The Eras Tour: The Rise of Hackers, Scammers, and Bad Bots

Taylor Swift’s record-breaking Eras Tour cemented its legacy as one of the most celebrated tours in music history. As fans know all too well, it was almost impossible to buy tickets directly from Ticketmaster due to demand and site glitches. Tickets were resold for thousands of dollars above face value, and many were targeted by cybercriminals hoping to take advantage of the situation.[1] The tour exposed flaws in online ticketing systems and raised serious cybersecurity concerns, from scalper bots to seller scams and breaches.

Ticketmaster Says Don’t Blame Me

By the time presale came around, only a select number of fans were chosen as “Verified Fans” for city-specific sales. The tour sold out entirely during the presale, prompting Ticketmaster to cancel all general sales - an unprecedented move that sparked fan outrage and calls for regulation. Taylor Swift herself expressed her frustration with the situation.[2]

During a U.S. congressional testimony, Ticketmaster admitted that despite anti-bot measures, sophisticated bots were able to bypass restrictions and buy up the supply. They reported three times the amount of bot traffic they had ever seen, with bots trying to purchase tickets and hack into their servers for access codes.[3]

The Not So Lucky Ones

The chaos affected fans with and without tickets alike. Cybercriminals exploited the situation, using phishing sites to steal sensitive information or to impersonate friends through hacked social media accounts to sell fake tickets.[4] In some cases, hackers even compromised Ticketmaster accounts, transferring out and reselling fans’ tickets. Theft victims reported waiting up multiple days for Ticketmaster to return their tickets after they were taken.[5]

Ticketmaster Data Breach

In 2024, Ticketmaster also faced a significant data breach where an “unauthorized third party” stole barcode data[6] and customer information[7] from a cloud database. This breach left millions vulnerable to fraud. In response to this, the Office of the Privacy Commissioner launched an investigation into Ticketmaster’s security practices and consumer data handling. [8]

How to Protect Yourself Next Era

The Eras didn’t just showcase Taylor’s incredible music career - it highlighted an influx of tech-savvy individuals willing to exploit systems and people for money.

Consider the following to better protect yourself and any tickets you buy:

• Hackers often take advantage of weak or reused passwords. Make sure you have a different password for each site, and change them often.[9]
• Add two-factor authentication to your accounts – this extra step helps protect your tickets even if get hacked.
• Don’t be tricked by phishing scams. You may get fake emails or messages that look like they’re from Ticketmaster but in reality they are just made to trick people into revealing sensitive details. Always check the sender email address carefully.
• Only buy tickets from official sources, like Ticketmaster or verified resale platforms. Don’t immediately trust a friend on Facebook – if it’s too good to be true, then maybe they were hacked.

Hackers and bots may have won this battle, but the Swifties will be better prepared to win the great war by the time the next tour rolls around.

About the author

Natalie Bravo is a digital assets & blockchain lawyer at Renno & Co LLP.

Any article or other information or content expressed or made available in this Section is that of the respective author(s) and not of the OBA.