Have The Splendour In The Grass Tickets Been Hacked? [UPDATED]

Rogue tickets for Splendour In The Grass that are being promoted as 50 percent off are to be avoided at all costs this morning and may be the result of hacking.

Tickets to the festival went on sale at 9am this morning, but punters who were greeted with tickets that promised a half price discount were then hit with credit card fees in the thousands of dollars. Twitter speculation suggests that just before they appeared festival event details were linking to notorious drug hive Silk Road.

Moshtix CEO Harley Evans told theMusic.com.au this morning that they were investigating the issue and did not rule out a hacking attack. He said that the 50 percent tickets should be avoided “at all costs” and those sales would be cancelled later today.

There are reports now that exorbitant credit card fees may have been charged across a range of tickets, not just the 50 percent off offers.

On Facebook the festival have advised punters, “Under no circumstances purchase any "50% off" tickets - THEY WILL NOT BE VALID.”

They add that a $1,100 booking fee is “incorrect” and “only happening on invalid 50% off tickets.”

UPDATE: TheMusic.com.au has now gained access to tickets and three-day event tickets appear to be sold out. Only camping and Sunday-only tickets remain.

UPDATE, 10:50am: Evans has issued the following statement to theMusic: 

“During today's Splendour In The Grass on-sale, due to technical issues some customers were erroneously offered reduced priced tickets and charged incorrect credit card fees. All of these affected orders will be cancelled today, and customers contacted to allow them to purchase at the correct prices. This was an isolated technical issue that did not affect other ticket buyers and tickets are continuing to sell fast for the festival. Anyone that is concerned they have been charged the incorrect amounts should contact moshtix at ticketsupport.moshtix.com.au.”

UPDATE, 11:25am: Evans has further elaborated on concerns regarding consumer data safety, releasing this statement:

"“In response to speculation regarding unauthorised / illegal access of personal information during this morning's Splendour In The Grass on sale, we can confirm that no credit card information has been compromised during the technical issues experienced this morning. Anyone that is concerned they have been charged the incorrect amounts should contact moshtix at ticketsupport.moshtix.com.au.”

.@moshtix_com_au hacked? Defaced w/ silkroad links, reports of strange credit card fees appearing. Now HTTP 503 #SITG pic.twitter.com/PGvAnsiZ3J

— %256x%n (@justinsteven) May 1, 2014

@moshtix_com_au @SITG it's gone now, but it was there. pic.twitter.com/AGUIpfH3b5

— Cisco Sara (@C15CO) May 1, 2014

The Moshtix site is now down.

TWITTER REACTIONS

Never been so disappointed with @SITG got charged $1000 for one ticket. Didn't know until it was confirmed.

— Stella Grace (@InTheStars32) May 2, 2014

@SITG it took over $4000 from my bank. Who can I speak to regarding this

— Kate Murphy (@expectokatronum) May 2, 2014