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FTC Sues Ticket Broker for Illegally Buying Thousands of Taylor Swift Tour Tickets

A ticket broker used fake accounts and sophisticated tech to buy 379,776 tickets. Now, the FTC is suing to stop this practice and refund consumers.

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In this picture there is a man who is wearing sixteen number jersey, helmet, short and shoe. Beside him we can see another man who is wearing blue jacket, glass, helmet, trouser and standing near to the windows. At the top we can see audience sitting on the chair and watching the game. At the bottom there is another man who is wearing twenty six number jersey and holding a stick. In the bottom left corner there is an umpire was standing behind the glass. On the right we can see the companies advertisement board.

FTC Sues Ticket Broker for Illegally Buying Thousands of Taylor Swift Tour Tickets

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has sued a Maryland-based ticket broker operation, Key Investment Group LLC, for illegally purchasing thousands of Taylor Swift Eras Tour tickets. The operation, which used fake accounts and sophisticated technology to bypass Ticketmaster's security systems, generated approximately $64 million in resale revenue by marking up tickets far above face value.

The operation, active between November 2022 and December 2023, targeted high-demand events like Taylor Swift concerts. They purchased 379,776 tickets worth nearly $57 million, including 2,280 tickets for 38 Taylor Swift shows. By reselling these tickets, they made over $1.9 million in profit. The FTC argues that this operation harmed regular consumers who couldn't buy tickets at face value, as tickets were only available on secondary markets at inflated prices.

The defendants used various illegal methods to circumvent Ticketmaster's purchase limits. They created over 13,000 fake accounts using made-up names, addresses, and phone numbers. They also used thousands of different credit card numbers to avoid Ticketmaster's tracking systems. Additionally, they employed proxy servers, SIM banks, and automated software to hide their real internet addresses and automatically collect verification codes for thousands of fake accounts. The operation even involved crowdsourcing, recruiting ordinary people to create fake accounts in exchange for payment.

Key Investment Group LLC and its executives face federal charges for their actions. The FTC lawsuit aims to stop this illegal practice and refund consumers who were harmed. While there are no publicly available credible sources indicating that the group has unlawfully impacted other artists or concerts, the FTC's action sends a strong message to other potential offenders.

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