Community Corner

Stagecrafters' Ticketing Website Hacked

Officials at Vendini, Inc., an online ticketing service, are working to determine the extent of the breach, but said no social security numbers were compromised.

Anyone who used a credit card to purchase tickets for an event at the Baldwin Theatre in Royal Oak received a surprise email or letter from Vendini, Inc. warning a hacker breached the company's security on April 25, 2013.

Vendini processes online ticketing services to hundreds of entertainment organizations, including Stagecrafters, The Farmington Players and The Purple Rose Theatre Company.

Stagecrafters confirmed they are aware of the unauthorized intrusion into Vendini's systems and that patrons who received an email or letter should treat the matter seriously.

"Because Vendini manages many venue accounts, tens of thousands of customers’ data has been accessed. Fortunately Vendini does not store the security access codes," said Colleen Muench of Stagecrafters.

Vendini is actively cooperating with federal law enforcement, and is conducting an internal investigation with outside computer forensic and cyber security experts.

"Although our internal investigation is ongoing, we believe that in late March, a third-party criminal actor used hacking technologies to access our databases and may have accessed your personal information, such as name, mailing address, email address, phone number, and credit card numbers and expiration dates," the company blog states.

Vendini does not collect credit card security access codes, social security numbers, usernames or passwords, according to a compnay statement.

Vendini advices patrons that received an email or letter from the company to note the following:

  • To protect against the possibility of identity theft or fraud, we urge you to remain vigilant, and to regularly review your credit card account statements and credit reports for any unauthorized activity.

  • If you suspect that you may be a victim of identity theft or fraud, immediately contact your local law enforcement agency, your State Attorney General’s office and the Federal Trade Commission.  We have enclosed a Resources Guide for your reference.

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  • Do NOT respond to any requests for sensitive personal information in relation to this incident.  Vendini will never request such information via email or telephone unless it is absolutely necessary to respond directly to you regarding how this incident may impact you.

  • Find out what's happening in Royal Oakwith free, real-time updates from Patch.


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