Hackers steal, resell thousands of Taylor Swift concert tickets

Two hackers from the United States have been arrested on charges of stealing thousands of tickets worth millions of dollars from pop singer Taylor Swift and then reselling them.

According to a foreign news agency, the Queens District Attorney's Office has arrested Tyrone Rose, 20, and Shamra Simmons, 31, on charges of stealing and reselling about 1,000 tickets.

According to media reports, the hackers were working as third-party contractors for an online ticketing marketplace based in the United States. New York prosecutors have accused the hackers of stealing thousands of concert tickets by exploiting a flaw in an offshore ticketing platform and reselling them.

The tickets are worth $635,000 (approximately more than PKR160 million), while most of the stolen tickets are from pop singer Taylor Swift’s Eras tour.

According to media reports, hackers have also stolen tickets for other high-profile events, including concerts by world-renowned singer Ed Sheeran and famous British singer Adele, NBA games, and the US Open Tennis Championship.

The press release states that ‘Sutherland employee Tyrone, along with his associate Shamra, allegedly accessed the platform’s computer system and stole sold tickets, later reselling these tickets for an inflated price of $635,000.

According to the press release, ‘The suspects have been arrested in New York City and are being prosecuted, while the suspects could face 3 to 15 years in prison if convicted’.