Moshtix Says Splendour Ticket Hack Designed To Damage Brand

After a brief explanation of the disruptions to last week’s Splendour In The Grass online ticket sales process, Moshtix CEO Harley Evans has stepped forward with a new statement detailing the situation, with the company concluding the intent of the disturbance was “to create confusion and concern and damage the Moshtix brand”.

In the statement, published on the Moshtix website, Evans outlined the results of an independent investigation into the incident, which details on the site changed when an area of the ticketing system was accessed by an unauthorised user, seeing up to 500 Splendour ticket purchasers slugged with excess credit cards fees of around $1000 per ticket and in a small amount of cases offered fake 50% discounts.

Evans confirmed last week’s statement that “changes were being made [to the Moshtix website] by someone in a deliberate and unauthorised fashion”, here adding that “access to the system was gained through the unauthorised use of a legitimate single account username and password which was established for the Splendour in the Grass event”.

He also reiterated that confidential details had not been compromised in the breach, specifying that “areas that manage customer payment details, client bank account details etc” and “customers’ confidential information, in particular credit card details” were inaccessible.

Although describing the situation as a “prank” in the immediate aftermath, Evans’ scathing condemnation for the as yet unidentified instigators of this incident suggests there was little to laugh about in the resulting chaos:

“It’s obvious that those involved have scant regard for the impact this type of planned activity has on consumers and the industry generally. Further, this type of activity is illegal and we intend to pursue this matter to the fullest extent possible.

“It’s a real shame and frustration to everyone at moshtix that what should have been a day of celebration for the festival industry, with one of its most iconic and best loved festivals selling out in a challenging environment, that the focus of the day was on the unauthorised activities that caused the disruption.”

Apologising for delays in communication on Friday, Evans signed off by teasing the chance of “updates” for punters who missed out on Splendour tickets but still want to secure their entry. Perhaps we’ll see the return of the official Splendour resale mechanism sooner than we thought.

Harley Evans’ full statement can be read at Moshtix.com.au

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