An Adelaide mother and her 12-year-old daughter faced heartbreak after their tickets to see Billie Eilish in Melbourne were stolen, allegedly by hackers. Emily Husdell purchased two tickets last May, eagerly anticipating the concert with her daughter, Jayda. However, as reports emerged about invalid tickets in Brisbane, Husdell decided to verify her own tickets. Upon checking, she discovered that one ticket bore her name, while the other had a different name entirely.
Rushing to the Entertainment Centre, she learned that both tickets were gone. Frantic, she was advised to report the incident to the police and her bank, as the tickets had been listed for sale on Ticketek Marketplace without her consent. It’s suspected that someone had hacked her Ticketek account to facilitate this.
Devastated, Husdell explained the emotional toll on Jayda, who reacted to the bad news as though it were a death. Despite the setback, they are determined to make the nine-hour journey to Melbourne, even if it means standing outside the concert venue without tickets.
Ticketek acknowledged that some accounts had been unlawfully accessed due to information compromised in previous data breaches. However, they stated that there hadn’t been a breach of Ticketek’s systems and warned customers to remain vigilant by changing their passwords. They advised anyone who believed they had been victims of ticket fraud to report it to the police and contact their support team to investigate further.
Husdell has filed a police report and is hopeful for a refund. She expressed her willingness to buy additional tickets if available, purely for Jayda’s sake, despite the unfairness of the situation. Eilish is currently performing in Australia, with sold-out shows scheduled across Brisbane, Sydney, and Melbourne.