Madison Square Garden has announced that it has suffered a year-long data breach of debit and credit cards used at concession stands at Madison Square Garden, the Theater at Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, Beacon Theater, and Chicago Theater between November 9, 2015, and October 24, 2016.
The breach occurred through an intrusion by hackers who were able to obtain the credit and debit card holders’ names, credit or debit card numbers, expiration dates and security codes as they were being processed. The public reports haven’t confirmed this, but there is technology out there now that actually allows the hackers to take screen shots as the credit or debit card is being processed. UGH.
The breach did not affect Ticketmaster purchases or payments made on the Madison Square Garden website, so that extra fee you pay for Ticketmaster might have been a plus.
I went to the Beacon Theater to see a great concert, so I am going to check my credit card records now. Of course, I don’t have a debit card. If you have used a credit or debit card at any of these venues in the last year, you should check your records too just to make sure nothing fishy has happened.
If you are going to see the Rockettes over the holidays, you may want to use cash, although Madison Square Garden has confirmed that the “issue” has been resolved and customers may use their cards with confidence at MSG venues.” Isn’t Phish playing there over New Year’s?