Bulgarians Implicated in US Online Ticketing Scheme

Crime | April 9, 2010, Friday // 08:48|  views

The Wiseguys earned USD 25 M as prosecutors tally it, selling premium seats at inflated prices to brokers who resold them at even higher markups to the public. File photo

A ring of hackers working for Wiseguy Tickets Inc. cracked security measures at Ticketmaster and other major vendors by hiring cheap Bulgarian programmers, federal prosecutors have charged.

"While thousands of adoring fans perched patiently at computers hoping to score good seats to everything from the Hannah Montana tour to Wrestlemania, the Wiseguys hired cheap Bulgarian programmers and began registering as many as 100,000 Internet addresses to jump the cyber-line at electronic ticket booths and make a fortune,.“ the Washington Post reported.

Operating mainly out of Los Angeles and San Francisco, the Wiseguys gained control of 1.5 million tickets to popular and coveted concerts and sporting events nationwide between 2002 and 2009. They earned USD 25 M as prosecutors tally it, selling premium seats at inflated prices to brokers who resold them at even higher markups to the public.

According to prosecutors the Wiseguys used the Bulgarian hackers hired at USD 1,000 a month to create automated programs known as bots that flood vendor sites and buy hundreds of choice tickets in split-second transactions.

They targeted seats set aside for patrons with limited vision because those spots were closest to a stage.

They posed as tweens in a Miley Cyrus fan club to draw a bead on pre-sales.

Major vendors, including Ticketmaster, the world's largest ticketing company, spent more than million to combat automated attacks. But they were bested by a company with 15 employees, according to federal agents.

On gross annual revenues, the Wiseguys were turning a 20 percent profit, court records show.

Four men are accused of conspiracy, wire fraud and computer crimes in a case focused more on how they bought the tickets than on the reselling, because there is no federal law governing ticket brokering. Three of the men have pleaded not guilty and the fourth is awaiting a court appearance.

The Wiseguys boasted of their successes. They "pigged out" in 2009 on tickets for the New York Giants-Philadelphia Eagles playoff game and "dominated" tickets for a "Dancing With the Stars" show in 2008, e-mails filed in court show. Their Bulgarian programmer cautioned in a 2007 e-mail that by closing out average buyers and jacking up prices, the Wiseguys risked alienating so many people that "the general public may snap."

Rush, the defense lawyer, said the indictment took the e-mails out of context.

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Tags: Wiseguy Tickets, online ticketing, crime, federal prosecutors

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