First Alert 4 Investigates gets results for fans after scammers steal tickets

ST. LOUIS, Missouri (First Alert 4) – First Alert 4 Investigates is obtaining results for a local music fan after her concert tickets mysteriously disappeared from her account – along with the thousands of dollars she had paid. She had been looking forward to seeing Usher, who performs at the Enterprise Center on Friday and Saturday nights this weekend.

After weeks of being stuck with Ticketmaster, she reached out to chief investigator Lauren Trager, who learned this was happening nationwide.

“I’ve loved him for a long time,” Erin Owens said.

Owens jumped at the chance to see Usher in St. Louis – four tickets he bought in March, totaling $2,500. She planned to take her favorite people with her.

“As a little hurrah, just to thank everyone and show them how much I appreciate them for helping me,” Owens said.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago…

“I went into my Ticketmaster account and saw my tickets were gone,” she said.

They had been debited from their account by a fraudster.

CBS stations across the country have heard from viewers. A woman in Austin, Texas, was unable to see Usher after her tickets were stolen.

Others in Philadelphia have lost tickets to concerts and sports games.

“Tickets are definitely a valuable commodity these days. It's one of those things – now we don't carry it in our pockets, it's all online, on computers and devices. “It’s easy for someone anywhere in the world to try to access your Ticketmaster account and transfer your tickets,” said Scott Granneman, a local cybersecurity expert.

He said that while Ticketmaster suffered a data breach earlier this year, the situation appeared to be more related to people using less secure passwords.

“There is evidence that this is not a hack of Ticketmaster itself. Instead, many people’s Ticketmaster accounts are being compromised because thieves have found a new way to make money,” Granneman said.

Granneman added that Ticketmaster, like other companies, balances security with its services.

“On the one hand, people complain about not being asked about safety, but on the other hand, they would complain if they were given too much instruction. So it’s a tough fight for any company, including Ticketmaster,” Granneman said.

“It's one of those things where you never thought it could actually happen to you, but it did,” Owens said.

Owens told First Alert 4 Investigates she was devastated and in disbelief.

“I don’t really want my money back. I want my tickets,” she said.

Her requests to Ticketmaster went unanswered, she said.

“I don’t necessarily know how it works, but I wish they would do more to help,” she said.

First Alert 4 Investigates contacted Ticketmaster on their behalf. After several inquiries, Ticketmaster sent a statement:

“Overall, our digital ticketing innovations have significantly reduced fraud compared to the days of paper tickets and duplicate PDFs. Using this digital history, we are also able to investigate the situation and restore fans’ tickets.”

The company further stated that it “continuously invests in new safety enhancements to keep fans safe.”

Owens said she is confident Ticketmaster will do the right thing.

“Damn, maybe you’ll even upgrade me! My goodness, that would be nice – they put me right next to Usher. I'll be on stage!” she joked.

After contacting Ticketmaster, Owens got two of the four tickets back. So we returned with representatives from Ticketmaster.

On Tuesday afternoon, First Alert 4 Investigates received an update from Erin: “The process of getting the second half of the tickets was also a little difficult. Again, I don't think I would have made it through the second half without Lauren, but I'm happy and grateful to have all four tickets. Definitely a stressful process, but we did it and I’m looking forward to the concert on Friday!”

Owens had a confession to make: her password wasn't as secure as it could have been, but she's now changed it.

Granneman recommends that each of your accounts should have a unique and long password and that using a password manager is crucial. If you own an Apple phone, you already have one and it's free.

Further information can be found here.

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