Ticketmaster is changing Taylor Swift ticket transfer rules due to reported ticket thefts

Ticketmaster is enforcing new rules for fan transfers of Taylor Swift tickets as more cases of fraud are reported.

The ticket sales giant recently updated its website and stated that ticket transfers for Swift's concerts cannot begin until 72 hours before the event. Previously, Swifties could transfer tickets between Ticketmaster accounts at any time.

Ticketmaster representatives confirmed the rule but did not respond to questions about the reason for the change.

This comes after a spike in reported hacking attacks on Ticketmaster accounts, affecting Canadian Swift fans as well as ticket holders for other events run by the company.

Some customers posted on social media that concert tickets they purchased months ago were suddenly transferred from their Ticketmaster accounts without their authorization.

According to the company, stolen tickets must be recovered

The company said in a statement it was working to “restore fans’ tickets.”

“Fans can best protect themselves by setting a strong, unique password for all accounts – especially their personal email addresses, where security issues often arise,” it said.

“Scammers are looking for new scammers in every industry and tickets will always be a target because they are valuable. That’s why Ticketmaster continues to invest in new security improvements to keep fans safe.”

Francine Vachon, an associate professor of information systems at Brock University, is skeptical that Ticketmaster's changes to ticket transfer will have a real impact on suspected ticket theft, pointing out that the change does not prevent theft from occurring within 72 hours window before the event occurs.

She told CBC News that these reported thefts stem from a data breach this summer.

In JulyTicketmaster alerted Canadian customers that there had been a data breach that allowed a third party to access customers' personal information. This could have included their name, contact information and even credit and debit card information, the company said at the time. Canada's privacy commissioner then opened an investigation into Ticketmaster to assess its security measures.

“This allows people to log into other people’s accounts and steal their tickets,” Vachon said. “If my daughter had an account and was a Swiftie, they could just use their password, access their account, take their ticket and transfer it to their own account.”

Higher login security is urgently needed

While it's always good advice to change the password to a strong and unique password after a data breach, she said the company should do more to actively protect consumers. She said Ticketmaster could have enforced two-factor authentication for sign-in before or after the breach, but has not yet done so.

“They didn’t encrypt their data and now people are having their tickets stolen,” she said.

The effectiveness of limiting ticket transfers until just before shows will soon be tested – Swift's record-breaking Eras tour is coming to Toronto next month, with the first of six shows starting November 14. The Toronto shows will be followed by three shows in Vancouver in December.

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Why concert tickets are so expensive in Canada

Canadian Swifties say they are flying to Europe to see the singer's Eras tour because of cheaper ticket prices. CBC's María José Burgos explains why concert tickets are so expensive in Canada and what needs to change to bring prices down.

Tickets for Swift were a hot commodity – some Canadian fans flew to Europe to watch them instead of competing for spots on the Canadian dates.

Ticketmaster's handling of ticket sales has recently come under scrutiny. After Oasis saw tickets fly off digital shelves with skyrocketing prices in early September, the company came under fire for its use of dynamic pricing, which ties ticket prices to demand, driving up the price.

The British competition regulator has an investigation has been initiated investigated Ticketmaster's handling of Oasis ticket sales to determine whether the company violated consumer protection laws.