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How Secure Is Your Box Office Inside and Out?
Turn on any TV and you’ll hear about the recent scourge
of identity theft, credit card fraud, and Internet “phishing” schemes.
What does this have to do with theatre? More than you might think. While patrons
may turn to theatrical entertainment for a break from the real world, the
box office is no place to shirk from harsh realities. How can you protect
your patrons—and yourself—from people trying to steal from the box
office?
Scalping and Phishing and Stealing, Oh My!
According to Jeffrey Larris, president of the International Ticketing Association
(INTIX), the ticketing industry is safe from major security breaches. “Very
few security breaches occur in our industry due to controls,” he insists.
But every arts organization should constantly ensure safeguards in the face
of overwhelming evidence that things can and do go wrong within the ticketing
industry.
Scalping has challenged box offices for years, and though the sports industry
faces a far larger plague than the world of theatre, the problem has been
exacerbated through online sales. Scalpers used to be relegated to the corner
near the theatre. Now they can turn to Web sites such as Craigslist and eBay
and turn a tidy profit on their overpriced tickets. Scalping has been called
a “victimless crime,” but officials in several states have cracked
down with aggressive anti-scalping laws. Theatre companies wishing to fight
scalping on their own should consider instituting limits on ticket blocks
sold—for example, orders over 20 tickets should go through a group sales
hotline or other alternative—in order to prevent large blocks of tickets
from getting into the hands of unauthorized ticket agents.
Unfortunately, ticketing problems can lie with the ticket agent itself. Case
in point: Ticketmaster, the industry’s poster child, which has a monopoly
on most advance ticket sales for large venues and sold nearly 120 million
tickets in 2005 alone. The company has come under fire for its Internet privacy
policy, which allows the company to share personal information on its customers
with partner merchants and does not allow consumers to opt out of these solicitations
before buying. The company has also come under fire for hitting former customers
with spam-like e-mails that are easily mistaken for “phishing” schemes.
However, phishing-like e-mail campaigns are the least of theatre patrons’
problems. Real phishing scams are far more dangerous and costly than Ticketmaster’s
frequent e-mails. A phishing fraud is a common Internet scam in which a fraudster
posing as a legitimate company tries to acquire personal information through
e-mail, including Social Security numbers, credit card information and even
online passwords. The scam is becoming more and more popular—and with
more and more online ticket sales, it’s time for the theatre industry
to shield itself from scammers eager to cash in on recognizable names.
In order to prevent customers from being duped in phishing scams, theatres
should include specific information on how personal and financial details
used in ticket transactions will and will not be used. If your patrons know
that your theatre will never send a confirmation e-mail asking for personal
information, they can be on guard against fraudulent e-mails from scammers
posing as an online ticketing source. Watch for “mirror” fraudsters
who may try to set up a similar Web site to obtain financial information from
customers who think they are buying legitimate tickets. Report any instances
of phishing or mirror fraud to the police immediately.
Protect Yourself And Your Patrons With The Right Tools
Phishing and other Internet fraud schemes hurt patrons, but identity theft
can also cripple your box office revenues. The reason? Financial information
that is handled through online and computer-based systems is vulnerable to
hacking attempts and old-fashioned theft by tech-savvy fraudsters out for
your patrons’ personal and banking information. As a result, it’s
important to ensure that your box office—whether it issues its own tickets
or relies on a third-party solution—has chosen the proper tools to protect
itself from identity and credit card theft.
Online transactions should be safe and secure. Make sure that your software
includes the proper encryption for sensitive financial data. An online system
that collects personal data should be protected with Secure Socket Layer (SSL)
encryption or Secure HTTP (S-HTTP). SSL is a cryptographic system that codes
personal data with a key known only to the user. This coding prevents information
from being decoded if a system is hacked. S-HTTP systems transmit data over
a secure connection safe from hackers and thieves. Either method is a sensible
solution for online transactions. Your online ticketing provider should be
familiar with encryption options.
“Encryption happens within the database itself, thus making credit card
numbers unreadable by outsiders,” says Jack Rubin, business and marketing
director for Tessitura. He notes that masking, a process that blocks credit
card numbers from future use, is the second part of the process for ensuring
maximum credit card security. All large ticketing software companies, and
many online ticketing companies, take measures to encrypt and secure credit
card numbers and personal information. Protobase and Paymentech services,
which transport transaction information to banks, also encrypt financial information
transmitted online.
“If merchants are practicing due diligence, they’re more likely
to be absolved when there’s a problem with their system,” notes
Michael La Cross, director of business and retail development at Southern
DataComm/Protobase, a credit card payment and processing services company
with contracts in theatres small and large. (Carnegie Hall, for example, is
one of their customers.) “A secure interface mitigates your potential
exposure.”
In addition to being responsible for financial information transmitted online,
your box office needs to take charge of information stored on-site by securing
the data. Limiting access to your password is essential, as is a secure backup
system that is operated by only a few trusted employees. Use spam blockers
and firewalls to prevent your system from attack. In addition, make sure that
your computers are in a secure location and are difficult to remove.
What about tickets? Jim Walcott, president of Weldon, Williams & Lick,
a ticket printing and design company, says there are many options for box
offices. “Our clients get into strange security predicaments,” he
comments, noting that ticket decisions must be made in response to perceived
security risks and the size of an event. From holographic imprints with the
company logo to creating souvenir tickets with no counterfeiting to false
watermarks, black-light ink and custom paper, the options seem endless—and
are dictated only by the budget of your box office. “Make sure your ticket
taker knows what they’re looking for,” Walcott warns.
If you’ve experienced problems with counterfeit ticketing, consider investing
in high-grade tickets such as those using Worldwide Ticket’s new cold
foil technology. The cold foil process creates shiny imprints that cannot
be reproduced on a scanner or copier, reducing the chance of counterfeit tickets.
“It is difficult to quantify reductions in counterfeiting, but cold foil
has proven to be a very popular choice for venues that need an easily verifiable
security feature,” says Mark Turner of Worldwide Ticket.
Protect Your Patrons, Educate Your Employees
The physical box office is no stranger to theft. Fortunately, there are safeguards
you can put in place that protect both patrons and employees. Gone are the
days of bonded ticket agents. In today’s box office, your theatre should
be insured against employee theft. However, most insurance policies only cover
employee theft of cash and do not encompass losses due to employee theft of
sensitive financial data. Your hiring practices and box office procedures
should be adjusted accordingly.
While background checks, bulletproof glass, security cameras and uniformed
guards can increase security in theatre box offices, the best protection is
impeccable record-keeping, clear policies and procedures, and good training
for box office workers. Why entrust your company’s revenues to an unskilled
and improperly trained employee? Think twice about who has access to your
funds—and precious patron information.
“There’s no point in allocating technology to security just to see
it mismanaged,” notes La Cross. “Educate your employees on what
is sensitive data and implement some sensible policies and procedures.”
If you’re wondering why, La Cross warns you to think of the consequences
if your patron data gets compromised. “Can your theatre sustain even
one security breach?” he asks. “Why not pursue a security strategy
that’s proactive, not reactive?”
With increased online ticketing and more sophisticated frauds being uncovered
daily, it’s unlikely that concerns about box office security will decrease
any time soon. Save your theatre time, stress and money with a bit of strategic
planning and the implementation of procedures that make sense for patrons
and box office employees. Your audience—and your bottom line—will
thank you!
