Cybercrime gang stole, resold 900+ tickets to Taylor Swift concerts
What's the story
A cybercrime group has been accused of stealing and reselling over 900 digital tickets for high-profile events, including Taylor Swift's concerts. The international scam involved individuals based in Jamaica working for a company contracted by StubHub, the online ticket marketplace, reported AP. These contractors allegedly stole ticket URLs from StubHub and emailed them to accomplices in New York, who then downloaded and resold these tickets on the same platform at inflated prices.
Profit details
Scammers made over $600K from reselling stolen tickets
Reportedly, the cybercriminals earned over $6,00,000 in profits from the operation, which ran for about a year between June 2022 and July 2023. Most of the stolen tickets were for Swift's Eras Tour, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz revealed on Monday (New York time). However, the thieves also targeted other high-demand events like Adele and Ed Sheeran concerts, NBA games, and the US Open Tennis Championships.
Arrests made
Two suspects arrested in connection with the ticket scam
Two of the scam's perpetrators, Tyrone Rose (20) and Shamara Simmons (31), were arrested last Thursday. They have been charged with grand larceny, computer tampering, and conspiracy. Rose was on the Jamaican team that redirected purchased tickets to Simmons's email and another Queens-based accomplice in New York City. He was arrested while visiting New York and ordered to surrender his passport. Both Rose and Simmons have pleaded not guilty and were released pending their next court appearance on Friday.
Company response
StubHub discovered the scam and took immediate action
StubHub revealed on Tuesday that it had discovered the criminal scheme and reported it to authorities and its third-party customer service vendor. The company has since cut ties with this vendor and improved its security measures. All ticket orders flagged as being impacted by the theft have been replaced or fully refunded, according to a statement from StubHub.