FTC alleges group fraudulently flipped Taylor Swift seats on Ticketmaster

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A mysterious organization has been charged by the Federal Trade Commission for creating numerous false accounts on Ticketmaster, aiming to buy and later re-sell tickets to performances by Taylor Swift, Bruce Springsteen, and other popular musicians.

Between November 1, 2022, and December 30, 2023, a key trio is said to have exploited platforms like Totaltickets, TotallyTix, and Front Rose Tix to buy approximately 379,776 tickets from Ticketmaster at a total cost of around $57 million. The FTC’s claim is that they subsequently resold these tickets on secondary marketplaces for approximately $64 million.

The three individuals reportedly employed software to hide their IP addresses, illegally obtained credit cards and SIM cards to fabricate false Ticketmaster accounts. Furthermore, they persuaded friends and relatives to establish Ticketmaster Verified Fan accounts, offering minor incentives and commissions for creating new profiles.

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Lawmakers from different political parties raised concerns about Live Nation/Ticketmaster’s suspected monopoly, which is a consequence of the controversy surrounding Taylor Swift’s ticket sale debacle in November.

In simpler terms, the Federal Trade Commission claims that a particular group made over a million dollars by buying and selling Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert tickets in 2023, specifically for her Las Vegas show on March 25th at Allegiant Stadium. The group is said to have used multiple accounts to buy more than the allowed number of tickets, exceeding the tour’s six-ticket limit by quite a margin. Afterward, they increased the prices and successfully sold these tickets, generating roughly $119,000 in profit from this single event.

On September 1, 2023, at MetLife Stadium for a Bruce Springsteen concert, the defendants exploited 277 separate accounts to buy a staggering 1,530 tickets, significantly surpassing the band’s ticket limit of four per person. These acquired tickets were then resold at a profit, generating $20,908.4 in revenue for the defendants.

The Federal Trade Commission claims that Live Nation’s actions potentially breach the Better Online Ticket Sales Act. Live Nation’s representatives were yet to respond to a request for comment at the time.

Although Ticketmaster isn’t being charged with any misconduct in the complaint, Swift notoriously criticized Ticketmaster following the chaos of the Eras Tour ticket sale where numerous fans were unable to purchase tickets and discovered that seats were quickly listed on resale platforms at significantly higher prices than the original cost.

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In simpler terms, authorities such as the Department of Justice (DOJ), California, and several other states filed a lawsuit against Live Nation, which owns Ticketmaster, accusing them of violating anti-monopoly laws, potentially leading to a mandatory separation of the company.

In a post from 2022, she expressed concern about the difficulty people faced in obtaining tickets and suggested potential solutions for future improvements. She also stated that she wouldn’t accept any explanations since we had repeatedly asked if they could manage such high demand, and were told they could.

Swift expressed her frustration, saying, “It’s incredibly frustrating for many [fans] to feel as if they had endured multiple encounters with bears to obtain them.” (This sentence maintains the original meaning and flow, but uses less colloquial language.)

The occurrence led to tumultuous debates in Congress and a federal antitrust lawsuit filed against Ticketmaster and its parent company Live Nation. Interestingly, while Ticketmaster is not directly named in the lawsuit, a slide from a 2018 presentation by Ticketmaster was included in the complaint, alleging that they had warned of potential significant economic harm if they were to implement an eight-ticket limit universally. In March, President Trump signed an executive order aimed at combating deceptive ticket reselling practices.

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2025-08-19 22:01