Ticketmaster is one of the largest ticket sales and distribution companies in the world. They sell tickets for various events like concerts, sports games, theater shows, and more. When purchasing tickets on Ticketmaster, they sometimes ask for your Social Security Number (SSN) for identification and verification purposes. However, many people are hesitant to provide their SSN online due to concerns over identity theft and fraud. In this article, we will look at whether it is safe to give Ticketmaster your SSN, the risks involved, their data security practices, and alternatives if you do not want to provide it.
Why Does Ticketmaster Ask for SSN?
Ticketmaster asks for customers’ SSN for a couple of reasons:
- To verify your identity and prevent fraud – Your SSN is a unique identifier that helps Ticketmaster confirm your identity. This prevents people from purchasing tickets under someone else’s name or with a stolen credit card.
- To enforce ticket purchase limits – For high-demand events, Ticketmaster will sometimes enforce limits on how many tickets each customer can buy. Collecting SSNs prevents people from circumventing those limits by buying tickets under multiple names.
By collecting SSNs, Ticketmaster aims to create a fairer and more secure ticket buying process. However, they also recognize some customers’ hesitancy in providing that sensitive information online.
Risks of Providing SSN to Ticketmaster
While Ticketmaster uses SSNs to prevent fraud, there are also risks consumers take by providing that information:
- Identity theft – If Ticketmaster’s systems were compromised, hackers could gain access to customer SSNs and potentially open fraudulent accounts. SSNs are very valuable to identity thieves.
- Data breaches – Ticketmaster has experienced data breaches in the past, including in 2018 when hackers accessed some customer information. Providing your SSN creates another data point that could be exposed.
- Unwanted marketing/spam – Providing your SSN also allows Ticketmaster to connect your activity across all the services and platforms they own. This could expose you to more marketing emails, spam, and advertising calls.
Once your SSN is compromised, it can be difficult to contain the damage. So consumers need to weigh the risks before providing that information, even to large established companies like Ticketmaster.
Ticketmaster’s Data Security Practices
Ticketmaster does invest substantially in cybersecurity and protecting customer data:
- Encryption – Ticketmaster uses encryption when transmitting and storing sensitive customer data like SSNs. This makes the information unreadable without the encryption keys.
- Access controls – Employee access to SSNs and other personal data is restricted only to those employees who need it for job purposes.
- Security monitoring – Ticketmaster monitors their systems 24/7 to detect and respond to potential security threats.
- Security testing – Internal teams and external auditors routinely test Ticketmaster’s applications and network for vulnerabilities.
However, despite these measures, no system is impenetrable. Customers have to decide how much they trust Ticketmaster specifically when considering providing personal data.
Alternatives to Providing Your SSN to Ticketmaster
If you do not feel comfortable giving your SSN to Ticketmaster, there are some alternatives:
- Provide another photo ID – You may be able to provide a valid driver’s license or passport number instead of SSN for identity verification.
- Use a virtual credit card – Services like Privacy.com let you generate virtual credit cards to make purchases while keeping your real card number hidden.
- Buy tickets anonymously – You can purchase Ticketmaster tickets at retail locations like supermarkets and pharmacies and avoid providing any personal information.
- Skip events with SSN requirements – If you feel strongly about not providing your SSN, you may have to not purchase tickets for certain high-demand events.
However, Ticketmaster does reserve the right to require SSNs at their discretion, in which case your only options are to provide it or not make the purchase.
Key Factors in Deciding Whether to Provide Your SSN
When deciding whether to give your SSN to Ticketmaster, here are some key considerations:
- How sensitive are you about providing your SSN in general? If you heavily restrict who you give that information to, it may be best to avoid providing it to Ticketmaster.
- Do you trust Ticketmaster’s cybersecurity practices and track record? If you don’t, it would be risky to provide the SSN.
- Is the event you’re buying tickets for particularly high-demand? If Ticketmaster is more likely to enforce SSN requirements, you may have to weigh how much you want to attend.
- Are there alternative identification options? If you can provide a driver’s license instead, that would be less risky.
- How concerned are you about potential marketing spam? Providing your SSN enables more tracking of your interests and habits.
There is no unambiguously right or wrong answer. Each person needs to carefully weigh the pros and cons themselves when deciding whether to provide their SSN to Ticketmaster.
Conclusion
Ticketmaster asks for customers’ SSNs in certain cases to verify identities and enforce ticket purchase limits. However, providing your SSN does come with risks like identity theft if Ticketmaster’s systems were to be compromised. Ticketmaster does have security measures in place to protect data, but many consumers are still hesitant to provide such sensitive information online. You can explore some alternatives like using a virtual credit card or buying tickets anonymously in-person. Ultimately, you have to evaluate your own comfort level with providing personal information. There are reasonable arguments on both sides of whether giving your SSN to Ticketmaster is safe or too risky.
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