Ticketmaster UK have admitted British customers may have had their credit card data stolen in a security breach that could have affected up to 40,000 people.

The company says it 'identified malicious software' on a third party product on Saturday, but did not reveal the breach until today.

The firm said it disabled the software as soon as it realised what had happened, but did not say why it did not disclose the breach until now.

The hack affects UK transactions between February and June 23 this year and 'international customers who purchased, or attempted to purchase, tickets between September 2017 and June 23, 2018.'

Ticketmaster is advising all customers to reset their passwords and is offering all clients a free one-year identity monitoring service.

Ticketmaster UK have admitted customers may have had their credit card data stolen in a security breach that could have affected up to 40,000 customers

A dedicated website has been set up to deal with issues related to the data breach

Disney on Ice UK tour is one event Ticketmaster event that could have resulted in customers' credit card details being hacked

A statement on a dedicated website set up after the breach reads: 'On Saturday, June 23, 2018, Ticketmaster UK identified malicious software on a customer support product hosted by Inbenta Technologies, an external third-party supplier to Ticketmaster.

'As soon as we discovered the malicious software, we disabled the Inbenta product across all Ticketmaster websites.

'Less than five per cent of our global customer base has been affected by this incident. Customers in North America have not been affected.

What to do if you have been affected by the Ticketmaster UK security breach Malicious software on a third-party product used by Ticketmaster UK could have affected up to 40,000 of its customers. The security breach specifically affects UK customers who purchased, or attempted to purchase, tickets between February and June 23, 2018 and international customers who purchased, or attempted to purchase, tickets between September 2017 and June 23, 2018. If you have not received an email from Ticketmaster, the company do not believe you have been affected based on their investigations. As a precautionary measure, all notified customers will need to reset their passwords when they next log into their accounts Ticketmaster are also offering customers a free 12 month identity monitoring service with a leading provider. The ticket seller recommends you monitor your account statements for evidence of fraud or identity theft. If you are concerned or notice any suspicious activity on your account, you should contact your bank(s) and any credit card companies. Source: Ticketmaster UK Advertisement

'As a result of Inbenta's product running on Ticketmaster International websites, some of our customers' personal or payment information may have been accessed by an unknown third-party.

'We have contacted customers who may have been affected by the security incident. UK customers who purchased, or attempted to purchase, tickets between February and June 23, 2018 may be affected as well as international customers who purchased, or attempted to purchase, tickets between September 2017 and June 23, 2018.'

A spokesman for the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) said they are aware of the breach.

They said: 'We are aware of a cyber incident affecting Ticketmaster. The NCSC is working with our partners to better understand the incident.'

Furious customers took to social media to express their concern about their personal data.

One wrote: 'Stressing like hell about the @TicketmasterUK hack. Luckily I never save my bank/credit card details on sites.

'Still changed my password thou and made sure my purchased tickets were still there.'

Another posted: 'Never thought that buying something (concert ticket) on ticketmaster UK would be dangerous... Regrettably for me it was.'

The Ticketmaster hack comes less than two weeks after Currys PC world and Dixons Travel customers found out their data had been accessible to hackers for as long as a year.

Unbeknown to electronics giant Dixons Carphone, hackers were able to steal the bank details of 5.9million payment cards and the personal data records of a further 1.2million.

The major data breach involved shoppers at Currys PC World and Dixons Travel but bosses insist there is no sign of any related fraud.

Access was also gained to non-financial personal data, such as addresses, names and email information.