FBI Looking Into 'Malicious Attack' During Ticket Sales

DENVER -- A "malicious attack" was the reason the Rockies organization gave fans to explain what happened Monday when millions tried to purchase World Series tickets to games 3, 4, and 5 and were shut out.

The words have become such the buzzword in the city that when 7NEWS mentioned it to fans, several started laughing.

Some simply aren't buying the team's explanation, though, which may be why the Rockies have pulled in federal authorities.

7NEWS has learned the organization filed a federal complaint earlier this week. In it, Rockies spokesman Jay Alves said they asked for a full investigation into the "external malicious attack on our Web site."

"We're going to investigate it," said FBI spokeswoman Laura Eimiller.

That decision came down late Thursday afternoon. Eimiller said the inquiry will take place in California and not Colorado because the Rockies' ticketing partner, Paciolan, is located in Orange County. That's where the Rockies believe Paciolan's servers and computer were attacked.

7NEWS called and e-mailed Paciolan about the situation, but they didn't return our calls.

7NEWS also called Major League Baseball, but officials said the situation does not involve them.

Once fans click on the green button to place their orders they leave the MLB servers and go straight to the contracted server -- in this case, Paciolan. That means, MLB has nothing to do with the problems that frustrated thousands of fans.

One fan said that despite the complaint, he's still suspicious.

"Well, great, if there was an attack. I am a little dubious," said Chris Coslor. "I think maybe they just didn't test things out as well as they could have ahead of time, but who knows? Maybe they'll catch the evil Russian hacker."

The Rockies hope there is a culprit to catch. They hope it happens sooner than later because it would sure get the monkey off their backs.

Do you believe the Rockies' explanation? Check out our fan forum on this topic and voice your opinion.