Is Ticketmaster Legit? What You Should Know About Its Safety and Risks

Ticketmaster’s place in the industry

Ticketmaster is indeed a great ticketing platform. It operates in 30 countries and sells approximately 500 million tickets each year. It partners with about 12,000 clients among sport organizations, music promoters, and venues. So, if there’s a massive event on the horizon, Ticketmaster is likely to be an official seller or distributor.

And if you question whether Ticketmaster is legit, the short answer is “yes”, for the most part. For the most part because no system is flawless. 

Concerns you may have about Ticketmaster

Despite the brand has been operating for dozens of years, you could come across the following platform’s bottlenecks: 

Long queues and site crashes

Sometimes, you can be frustrated about being stuck in never-ending ticket queues or getting booted out of the checkout page. That’s not a “scam,” in a clear sense, but it can feel like a major headache when you’re desperately trying to snag front-row seats and the platform is not working properly. 

This is exactly what fans experienced during Taylor Swift’s “Eras Tour” pre-sale in 2022 when Ticketmaster’s system faced an unprecedented user load and didn’t cope with it. 

Ticketmaster data breaches

In 2024, Ticketmaster confirmed it was hacked and that personal details of 560 million customers had been stolen. The situation is still not over, and the company is trying its best to mitigate risks. Before that, in 2018, there also was a major data breach. If you purchased through Ticketmaster during those periods, your data could potentially be stolen as well. In just a bit, we’ll uncover measures to protect yourself. 

Ticketmaster fraud attempts

Sometimes, scammers pretend to look like Ticketmaster representatives and exploit its big name. Usually, they do it through phishing emails, phone calls, or shady pop-ups. Malicious actors may also create fake Ticketmaster tickets or hack users’ accounts. At the same time, Ticketmaster’s official site remains a legitimate channel, though not perfectly secure.

Let’s take a closer look at the most common Ticketmaster scams that you may face when wanting to buy tickets through this platform. 

Top Ticketmaster-related scams 

Need to say here that Ticketmaster is not a fraudulent platform itself. The danger comes from external scammers who want to piggyback on the platform’s massive popularity. So, here’s what to stay cautious about: 

Fake ticket listings

Fraudsters create false ads for the shows or major sports events you might be really eager to visit. They do it on random sites or social media. If you don’t watch properly for the source of such ads and hand over your money, you may get even a digital “confirmation” that you’ve successfully bought non-existing tickets, but your money will get stolen along with your sensitive data.

Fake Ticketmaster confirmation email

You might receive an email that looks like a legitimate message from Ticketmaster, saying there’s an issue with your account or a golden deal on a sold-out show. If you click the provided link without verifying and checking the sender’s email address, you can be redirected to a replica site of a Ticketmaster to steal your login details and payment info. 

Phishing messages and phone calls

Scammers can do their phishing schemes via email, texts, or even phone calls. Scammers pose as Ticketmaster support and may try to “verify” your details to “unlock your tickets”, as they say. But what do they need in reality? Just fool you and collect sensitive info.

Ticketmaster resale scam

Ticketmaster does have an official resale feature for some events. Con artists sometimes exploit this by distributing fake resale tickets on third-party websites. They’ll claim these websites to be “Ticketmaster-verified” ones. Once you pay for a precious ticket – guess what? They disappear with your money. 

Fake seat upgrades

Someone might pretend to be Ticketmaster staff offering seat “upgrades” for a small fee. Another option is that they may ask for your password to “finalize” the process. The scenario is similar – they turn out to be scammers who vanish with the money and your password. 

The scams vary in approach, but all of them share a common idea – impersonating Ticketmaster’s name to trick people into handing over their personal or financial info. Let’s now discuss how you can avoid them. 

How do you stay safe on Ticketmaster?

Before you start dreading your next ticket buying, here are the simple steps that will help protect yourself from Ticketmaster fraud:

Use a strong and unique password

Through Ticketmaster, you pay for tickets, which means the platform account stores your credit card info and tickets themselves. Your first line of defense is using a strong password. A strong one consists of letters, numbers, and symbols so that hackers won’t brute-force your login. Additionally, if you’ve reused your Ticketmaster password for other apps or systems, we recommend you update it to avoid domino-effect hacks in case of the worst fraud case. 

Enable two-factor authentication (2FA)

2FA is a must-have for effective prevention of Ticketmaster fraud. Even if someone figures out your password, or due to a data breach, and your sensitive data gets compromised, malicious actors won’t be able to break into your account unless they also have access to your phone or email.

Beware of third-party sellers

Even if you’re desperate for a sold-out show, don’t just click random links on social media ads. If you’re buying resale tickets, double-check it’s Ticketmaster’s official resale marketplace. What fraudsters may write about their site can be lies. In case you see a suspicious site promising unbelievably good prices, that’s probably a red flag.

Spot fake emails and URLs 

Watch out for fake Ticketmaster tickets or fishy emails. Are the URLs correct, or do you notice random characters like “@ticketmaister.co”? Is the email domain something weird instead of “@ticketmaster.com”? Always look closely and, if in doubt, better manually type the official Ticketmaster website into your browser. Better safe than sorry, don’t you think? 

In doubt? Contact Ticketmaster support team 

If you suspect a Ticketmaster resale scam or you see listings with obviously overpriced or underpriced tickets or bizarre claims, contact the Ticketmaster help center. Better to have them verify before you drop hundreds of dollars on questionable seats. 

Use a VPN service

A reliable VPN provider helps you to protect your identity digitally by encrypting your connection, assigning anonymous IP, protecting from installing malware on your device, and other useful perks. Let’s dwell a bit more on that.

How a VPN amps up your digital security

Even if you do everything right on Ticketmaster’s platform, what about your broader online security? A trustworthy VPN (Virtual Private Network) protects you by: 

Encrypting your connection

If all your Internet traffic is encrypted, hackers won’t be able to snoop on your financial transactions.

Anonymous IP 

A VPN assigns a new IP address on your device, thereby hiding your data and allowing you to enjoy browsing as if you’re located in another place. 

No malware on your device

Trusted VPN providers prevent your access to fake sites and phishing pages. It means you won’t even get a chance to install malware if you use a VPN.

Zero threat on public Wi-Fi 

When you’re buying tickets for an event you love through public Wi-Fi, the last thing you may think about is some scammer lurking on the same Wi-Fi network, capturing your credit card number. With a VPN, they won’t be able to intercept your traffic and steal financial data. 

But the thing is that not all VPNs are the same. Free ones usually sell users’ data to third parties to maintain their services, so consider opting for a credible provider like VeePN. 

Why choose VeePN for safe ticket-buying 

Here is how VeePN benefits your Ticketmaster secure ticket purchasing and digital privacy: 

Powerful encryption 

VeePN uses AES-256 encryption — the gold standard for data protection. That means everything you do online, including transactions for Ticketmaster, remains under virtual lock and key. 

No Logs policy 

VeePN ensures your Internet privacy by not storing browsing history and any user logs.

Wide server coverage

Get 2500+ servers across the globe, which means you can hop around different regions, potentially catching better deals or seat availability. 

Prevention of data leaks 

If your connection drops, the Kill Switch feature will immediately shut your Wi-Fi connection to not allow anyone to snoop on you. 

Breach alert 

VeePN offers 24/7 data leak monitoring. In case your personal info is exposed in one of the Ticketmaster security breaches, you’ll get an instant alert and will be able to take actions. 

Seamless usage on multiple devices

Access Ticketmaster from your laptop, phone, or tablet at the same time, which can be especially helpful if you’re waiting in the “ticket queue” on one of your devices. 

Try using VeePN without risks with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Written by Oliver Bennett Oliver Bennett is a dedicated cyber security content writer with a knack for breaking down intricate cyber topics into accessible and actionable insights.

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