Posted on October 27, 2022 at 8:27 AM

One Of The Longest Running Credit Card Breach Reported By See Tickets

Ticketing service provider “See Tickets” has informed customers about a data breach on their credit card payment details on its website.

The company revealed that cybercriminals might have had access to those payment cards through skimmers. These are snippets of JavaScript code planted on order checkout pages to steal card details from customers who have used their details on the website. Since the website is a ticketing service provider, users who have bought tickets to an event with their cards on the website could have been exposed.

The Breach Occurred in June 2019

Data from the Montana Attorney General’s office noted that the breach was discovered in April 2021 when it called a forensic firm to carry out an investigation.

But the malicious code was completely removed from the site only in January 8, 2022. The company engaged with global car payment providers such as Discover, American Express, Visa, and Mastercard.

See Tickets said the investigation was concluded on September 12, 2022, and that unauthorized persons may have had access to the customer’s credit card information.

Based on the internal investigation, the incident took place on June 25, 2019. This makes it one of the longest lengths of exposure as it spanned over 2 years. The customer details that could have been exposed include the customer’s full name, XIP code, physical address, and payment card number.

The company revealed that their social security number, bank account information, or identity numbers are not part of the stolen files since they are not stored in the systems.

Also, See Tickets has warned that users should be very careful against unauthorized credit card theft because of the type of data the hackers stole.

The company has also advised affected customers to be wary of phishing emails or other unsolicited emails or messages. They should also monitor their credit card statements to find out whether they are receiving suspicious charges.

These credit card criminals generally use stolen credit card details to buy goods from online stores and sell them to individuals to launder money. The criminals usually try to prevent a direct trace back to them by passing them through “money mule”.

No Free-Of-Charge Identity Protection Service Offered

Despite the high risk of the card theft campaign, See Tickets has not offered to provide free-of-charge identity protection services for the affected individuals. This means that impacted customers are left to face the consequence of the security breach. U.S. customers are entitled to one free credit report annually from the three major credit bureaus.

It’s also not clear how many customers were affected by the incident. The company has not stated whether the skimmer impacted its global site or in other domains it operates for regional audiences in Europe, Canada, and the U.S.

The company notified customers who bought tickets between 2019 and 2022 and informed them that their payment card information may have been compromised.

Affected Customers Should Remain Vigilant

Customers have also been asked to remain very vigilant against threats of fraud or identity theft. This means they need to monitor and carry out a regular review of their accounts and credit card history. Even if the customer did not see any suspicious charges, it’s still necessary to call on their bank to discuss possible options to protect their accounts and avoid any potential issues in the future.

In most cases, threat actors use some of the information for a phishing campaign. Once they have some of the user’s details, they use the information to exploit and gain acquaintance with the targeted user. While threat actors continue to grow in sophistication, simple techniques like phishing attacks are known to convince users.

They may not be suspecting any foul play since the threat actor will be communicating with the user’s personal information. But customers have been advised to confirm they are communicating with the right person whenever they are approached via email or on social media space. 

In another development, Australian firm Medibank recently suffered a data breach where hackers accessed all its customers’ data. The breach came after a ransomware attack that slightly crippled the healthcare provider’s network.

The Australian Government is looking to introduce stronger data protection laws. This comes following a series of high-profile data breaches in the country. The proposal has placed severe penalties on violators from up to AUD 50 million.