Entertainment
Thousands of tickets to Taylor Swift and other events illegally resold by broker, FTC alleges
A Maryland ticket broker is accused of illegally purchasing and reselling hundreds of thousands of tickets for profit, including thousands to Taylor Swift’s highly sought Eras Tour.
The Federal Trade Commission is suing Key Investment Group, saying the company made millions of dollars in profit from reselling the tickets at inflated prices.
The lawsuit, filed Monday, Aug. 18, in U.S. District Court in Maryland, accuses the company and its affiliates of bypassing Ticketmaster’s security measures designed to block resellers from violating ticket-purchase limits.
Key Investment Group also did business under the names Epic Seats, TotalTickets.com LLC and Totally Tix LLC, according to the complaint.
The FTC alleges that, in a one year period, the group purchased at least 379,776 tickets from Ticketmaster at a cost of nearly $57 million. The company then allegedly resold those tickets on secondary marketplaces for about $64 million.
In a statement, Key Investment Group said it will “vigorously defend itself against this clear example of regulatory overreach.” It claims the FTC “misleadingly characterizes KIG’s use of standard internet browsers,” and said the government’s case “threatens to dismantle the secondary ticket market for live events.”
Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour tickets
Between March and August of 2023, Key Investment Group allegedly purchased 10 or more tickets to 38 Taylor Swift concerts, totaling 2,280 tickets, according to the complaint. The FTC says the company made more than $1.2 million in profit reselling those tickets.
For just one Taylor Swift show, the defendants allegedly used 49 different accounts to buy 273 tickets. The Eras Tour had a six-ticket purchase limit per customer, per event.
Among other events the FTC alleges were targeted was a 2023 Bruce Springsteen concert in New Jersey. Despite a four-ticket limit, the defendants allegedly purchased and resold more than 1,500 tickets.
How the alleged scheme worked
According to the FTC, the group used thousands of Ticketmaster accounts, both fictitious and third-party accounts it had purchased, to bypass security measures and purchase the tickets.
The company is also accused of using thousands of credit card numbers, including virtual card numbers, spoofing IP addresses to hide the identity of the ticket purchaser, and using SIM technology to collect the incoming verification codes.
In doing so, the FTC said the brokers violated the FTC Act and the Better Online Ticket Sales Act, which prohibits people from “circumventing 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.”
Kirsten Dunst and Channing Tatum are teaming up for their highly anticipated new film Roofman, and the admiration between the two co-stars is mutual.
In a new interview with PEOPLE Magazine, Dunst opened up about her favorite performances by Tatum, returning the compliment after he recently gushed about her work.
“I’m just so proud of him, and Derek, and I really love this group so much,” Dunst said warmly of her Roofman collaborators.
When asked which of Tatum’s films she loved most, the actress replied, “I loved Foxcatcher and 21 Jump Street.”
“Those two are my faves,” she remarked before moving to a new topic.
Her comments came shortly after Tatum told the outlet at the Toronto International Film Festival that his favorite Dunst movie is 1994’s Interview with the Vampire, the film that launched her Hollywood career.
“Everything she’s ever done, I’ve been obsessed with,” Tatum admitted, confessing that joining forces with Dunst in Roofman, where their characters fall in love, made him “a bit nervous.”
Victoria Beckham is reportedly hopeful that she can finally mend fences with her eldest son, Brooklyn Beckham.
According to RadarOnline.com, the fashion designer has been quietly plotting to reconnect with Brooklyn, believing that “he must be sick of being controlled by Nicola [Peltz] and isolated from his family.”
“She’s convinced she’ll get more with honey than vinegar at this point,” an insider told the outlet, suggesting that Victoria plans to take a softer, more patient approach this time.
However, things remain complicated, as Brooklyn finds himself torn between his wife and his family.
“Brooklyn’s caught between a rock and a hard place,” the source shared. “He loves his mom and misses her terribly, as well as his dad and his siblings. But he’s scared to defy Nicola, who’s very clear that she expects him to hold firm and stand up for himself.”
While the Beckham family has tried to downplay rumours of tension, reports of strain between Victoria and Nicola have persisted since Brooklyn and Nicola tied the knot in 2022.
Week 6 inactives: Ja’Marr Chase, Mac Jones both questionable but expected to start
Women in banking: SBI aims for 30% female workforce by 2030; steps up inclusion and health initiatives – The Times of India
Kirsten Dunst reveals her favourite Channing Tatum movies
-
Tech6 days agoI’ve Tested Countless Mesh Systems. Here Are the Routers I Recommend
-
Tech1 week agoAmazon Prime Big Deal Days Is Next Week, but We Already Found 40 Early Deals
-
Tech6 days agoJony Ive Says He Wants His OpenAI Devices to ‘Make Us Happy’
-
Tech1 week agoAll Hail the Surprisingly Versatile Packing Cube! These Are Our Favorites
-
Tech1 week agoAI in an ‘industrial bubble’ but will benefit society: Bezos
-
Business7 days agoInvestors are packing up; Pakistan must ask why | The Express Tribune
-
Tech1 week agoAmazon is overhauling its devices to take on Apple in the AI era
-
Tech1 week agoCombat Dry Indoor Winter Air With a New Humidifier