Mon 1 Jun 2026 at 6:38pmMon 1 Jun 2026 at 6:38pmMelbourne International Film Festival customers have been caught up in a data breach. (Supplied)In short:More than 26,000 Melbourne International Film Festival customers may have been caught up in a data breach of the event's ticketing platform.The festival became aware of the issue on Friday, May 29.What's next?Affected customers are being urged to remain cautious of unexpected or suspicious emails and text messages.Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF) customers have received strange texts and emails after a data leak linked to the event's third-party ticketing system.The information of more than 26,700 customers may have been affected after unauthorised access to information on the Australian-owned ticketing platform Ferve.This represents approximately 10 per cent of the festival's total database.Some customers have reported being texted sad face emojis and emailed about Miley Cyrus.One email reportedly from the film festival titled "Critical Security Incident" simply said: "i feel like miley cyrus sometimes."An email sent to a customer following the Melbourne International Film Festival data breach. (Supplied)MIFF said they became aware of the issue on Friday, May 29 and some customers started to receive messages sent through the Ferve system on Saturday."[We] took immediate steps to contain the issue, working with Ferve to suspend access to the affected accounts and implement additional security measures," a MIFF spokesperson said."Our investigation indicates that certain customer personal information may have been accessed, including names, email addresses, phone numbers and residential addresses."According to MIFF, Ferve does not store complete credit card information and no account passwords were compromised."We have advised affected customers to remain cautious of unexpected emails or SMS messages that appear to come from MIFF and to avoid clicking links or providing personal information unless they are confident of the source," a spokesperson said.A group of friends, who were MIFF customers, all received a text with a sad face emoji on Saturday. (Supplied)They said the investigation into how the breach occurred was ongoing and that the Australian Cyber Security Centre had been notified.The film festival is an annual event in Melbourne, with this year's dates scheduled for August 6 to 23.It uses the ticketing platform Ferve, which services many other festivals and venues around Australia and abroad.Ferve's website states that numerous other Australian festivals use its services, including the Sydney Fringe Festival, Sydney Film Festival and Melbourne Writers Festival.The ABC has contacted Ferve for comment.