A cybercriminal gang has been accused of stealing over 900 digital tickets to resell at elevated prices on the Stubhub platform. Taylor Swift’s ‘The Eras Tour’ tickets were the primary target of the cyber crime.
Third party contactors based in Jamaica and employed by StubHub were able to access and steal the URLs of ticked bought via the StubHub platform.
The cyber sting then went international when the urls were sent on to associated in New York who downloaded and resold the tickets at inflated prices.
Over the year they were operating the cyber gang allegedly made over $600,000 profit.
Tickets stolen were primarily for Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour however there were some instances of theft related to Adele and Ed Sheeran shows, NBA games and the U.S. Open Tennis Championships.
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StubHub confirmed that it had discovered the criminal access and immediately reported it to authorities as well as its third-party customer service vendor. The company has now ceased operations with the third party vendor that was compromised and has fortified its cyber security practices.
Grand Larceny, Computer Tampering And Conspiracy Charges
Two of those involved, Tyrone Rose and Shamara Simmons have been arrested and charged with grand larceny, computer tampering and conspiracy charges.
This attack highlights the vulnerability of systems that rely on easily shareable URLs and the critical need for stronger authentication methods.
This incident underscores the growing threat of cybercrime in the online ticketing industry and the importance of robust security protocols.
Victims of the fraud reported significant distress, with many arriving at event venues only to be denied entry due to invalid tickets. StubHub has stated that all ticket orders identified as impacted by the theft have been replaced or fully refunded.
Organizations of all sizes must make sure to keep up with the latest trends and best practices in cybersecurity to prevent cyber attacks from impacting their users.
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