Gathering of the Juggalos Attacked by Hackers? What Fans Are Saying
This year's Gathering of the Juggalos was allegedly attacked by hackers who broke into the event's ticketing service, and here's what fans are saying about it.
The multi-day festival, founded by Insane Clown Posse, is set to be held from Aug. 14 through the 18 at Legend Valley in Thornville, Ohio. However, as first reported by Futurism, fans on the Juggalo Reddit and other online platforms are claiming that they received emails alerting them that the event's ticketing service was hacked, and their money was stolen.
What Did the Email Alert Say?
"It is with great regret to let you know that the Gathering order you placed is not valid and we had to cancel it (the QR codes will no longer work)," a screenshot of the email reads on Reddit.
"Through malicious tactics a hacker was able to break into the backend of our ecommerce platform that handles the Gathering transactions and change the recipient that your payment was sent to. Thus, effectively stealing the money."
The email then contained steps for fans to take in order to claim their payment as a fraudulent charge and request a refund from PayPal.
Only Some Fans Were Affected by the Hacking
As one individual pointed out in the comments, neither Insane Clown Posse nor Psychopathic Records — who hosts the event — have made an official statement addressing the situation online, and the Reddit post was made on June 5. Therefore, it's unclear whether the email was authentic or not.
According to the comments, only a select number of people received the email, and it was apparently sent from the email address info@juggalogathering.com and signed by Rob Bruce — ICP's own Jumpsteady. That email address is listed as a contact on the Gathering of the Juggalos' official website.
Juggalos Discuss the Hacking
Two Insane Clown Posse fans, Flipsey Unfiltered and Sytha, discussed the matter in a YouTube video and asserted that the email is real. Sytha claimed to have received the alert herself.
"What had happened was that a hacker had managed to get into the Gathering website and then change the PayPal address, so instead of going directly to the Gathering website to pay for your ticket, it went straight into this hacker's bank account," Sytha explained.
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"My way of handling this was to call the customer service number and then immediately call the other cell phone number [in the email], which we were all convinced was a scam. But it's not, it's Jumpsteady's personal cell phone number."
Both individuals praised Psychopathic Records' efforts to try and amend the situation, despite the fact that they haven't publicly addressed it yet. Sytha noted that Jumpsteady has a list of everyone who was affected by the hacking and has reached out to all of them.
Watch the full video below.
Gathering of the Juggalos Attacked by Hackers? What Fans Are Saying
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Gallery Credit: Philip Trapp