These days it’s not uncommon for companies to be hacked. Credit bureaus, department store chains, home improvement stores… it’s almost expected that another company will be hacked soon. Well, the next victim of these hackers may very well have been Creation Entertainment.
Fraudulent Charges
Starting on Monday, March 11th, a number of people were receiving alerts from their credit card companies or seeing unrecognized charges on their credit cards. The common thread? These were all customers of Creation Entertainment.
Creation Entertainment is the company behind conventions featuring popular actors from Supernatural, Star Trek, Stranger Things, The Vampire Diaries and other popular shows. They travel all around the country to provide fans a chance to meet their favorites from these properties and purchase autographs, merchandise and attend question and answer panels. Many of the attendees purchase their admission tickets to these events online via credit card.
Creation Entertainment’s Response
After receiving these reports, Creation released the following statement on March 13th:
“We have been advised by several customers that they have been notified by their credit card companies or bank of possible fraudulent charges appearing on their credit cards/debit cards. We have been advised by our IT team that after thorough security checks and investigations they find no breaches into our systems, and we have also been advised by our credit card/debit card processors, that after extensive security checks, that they also see no breaches either on their systems or in our ability to provide secure credit card/debit card processing of our orders.
“We at Creation Entertainment will continue to monitor this situation and will notify if there are any updates. We take great pride in ensuring that our customer information is protected when placing orders on our systems. We do suggest that everyone check their credit card or bank statements for any fraudulent activity and alert their credit card companies or bank of any issues.”
In a follow up to customers in their database, on March 14th:
“In our on-going effort to research this matter, we are asking our customers to contact us at [email protected] if you were notified beginning Monday, March 11th by your bank or credit card company of possible suspicious activity.
As of today, March 14th, we have been contacted by 63 customers who received such notice from their bank or credit card company.
Thank you for your patience as we continue our research.”
What You Should Do
While there is no confirmation at this time that Creation Entertainment has been hacked, it would be wise of any past customers to examine their credit card accounts. Contact Creation Entertainment via email and your financial institution if you see any unrecognized charges. As debit cards used as credit cards can also be affected, make sure you check your bank accounts as well.
We will be monitoring the situation and will report any new information as it becomes available.
