The government is taking a stand against ticket resale sites. On Aug.18 the Federal Trade Commission filed a lawsuit against a ticket broker operation. The FTC alleged that the company used unlawful tactics to exceed purchasing limits.
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In a press release, the FTC alleged that, after using a variety of tactics to bypass Ticketmaster purchase limits, Maryland-based broker Key Investment Group resold tickets at significantly higher prices.
Those tactics allegedly generated millions in revenue for the company. The company allegedly did so on sites including Epic Seats, TotalTickets.com LLC, and Totally Tix LLC.
In a press release of its own, Key Investment Group promised to “vigorously defend itself” against the lawsuit. The company called FTC’s filing “absurd,” and deemed it “deceptive and malicious.”
The FTC lawsuit, which was also filed against Key Investment Group’s CEO, CFO, and CSO, alleged that the company bypassed Ticketmaster’s security measures in four different ways.
First, they allegedly used thousands of accounts to purchase tickets, including fictitious and third-party accounts that they bought. The company allegedly used thousands of credit card numbers and hid their identity by using phony IP addresses.
Additionally, Key Investment Group group allegedly used “SIM boxes to facilitate the receipt of verification codes sent to the phone numbers associated with the thousands of fake and third-party accounts they used to purchase tickets.”
Inside the Allegations Against the Ticket Resale Company
As a result of their alleged actions, in one year, the company purchased 379,776 tickets for nearly $57 million. They allegedly went on to resell a portion of those at a significant markup, raking in $64 million.
One of the biggest concerts targeted in the alleged scheme was Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. The FTC alleged that for one concert, Key Investment Group used 49 different accounts to purchase 273 tickets. They allegedly went on to resell those tickets at a significant markup.
In doing so, the company is accused of violating the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. The laws make it illegal for any person to “circumvent a security measure, access control system, or other technological control or measure on an Internet website or online service that is used by the ticket issuer to enforce posted event ticket limits or to maintain the integrity of posted online ticket purchasing order rules.”
“President Trump made it clear in his March Executive Order that unscrupulous middlemen who harm fans and jack up prices through anticompetitive methods will hear from us,” FTC Chairman Andrew N. Ferguson said. “Today’s action puts brokers on notice that the Trump-Vance FTC will police operations that unlawfully circumvent ticket sellers’ purchase limits, ensuring that consumers have an opportunity to buy tickets at fair prices.”
Photo by TAS24/Getty Images
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