Beckett Cites Suspicious Activity Behind Its Outage, With Cert Lookup in the First Wave Back

Beckett has been down since September 9. In an update dated October 2, 2026, it says it "detected suspicious technical activity" during planned upgrades to its legacy IT systems and took its platforms offline out of caution. It is the first time Beckett has pointed to a security concern behind the outage, now more than three weeks old. Services will come back in three phases over the coming weeks, and cert lookup and pop reports are in the first wave.

Why Beckett Went Down

Beckett says it pulled its platforms offline out of caution, and that the long downtime is the time a full forensic investigation takes. It brought in outside security experts to work out what happened and to strengthen its systems.

The investigation "has not identified any evidence that sensitive customer information was impacted," Beckett wrote. Its other assurances:

Cards in Beckett's custody

• All cards in its custody are secure at its facility

Grades and population data

• Certification, grade records and historical population databases are intact

Systems

• Its team has full access to its systems and data

Beckett also recommends strong, unique passwords, two-factor authentication where available, and regular checks of account activity, which it calls a general precaution.

What Beckett has not said: it does not use the words breach, hack or cyberattack, and its investigation is still open. It says only that, like many companies, it operates where systems are increasingly targeted by unauthorized third parties.

Beckett's Three-Phase Restoration Plan

Beckett is releasing rebuilt versions of its platforms over the coming weeks, in this order:

Phase 1

• Customer Accounts
• Online Submission Center
• Certificate Look-up
• Pop Reports

Phase 2

• Online Price Guide
• Marketplace
• Dealer Admin portals

Phase 3

• Beckett Authentication Services
• Mobile App updates

Beckett did not give dates for any phase. As of October 3, 2026, the cert lookup page still redirects to the update notice.

What Still Works Today

Beckett's service page, checked October 3, 2026, lists what you can do right now:

• Express grading is open through a temporary submission form for Beckett's Plano, Texas headquarters
• Base and Standard grading are paused, with a waitlist to get notified when they reopen (they briefly reopened in mid-September)
• Drop-off and pickup at Beckett HQ work by appointment, and completed orders can now be collected from smart lockers
• Beckett EU online submissions and new Beckett Authentication Services submissions are unavailable
• Orders already at Beckett are still being graded, and customers keep getting automated email updates, even though online order-status tools are down

What It Means for Collectors

Without cert lookup, nobody can check a BGS serial against Beckett's records, which is why we put together a guide on checking a BGS slab while lookup is down.

Our take: putting cert lookup in Phase 1 is the right call for buyers. If you bought a BGS slab during the outage, look its serial up as soon as Phase 1 goes live and make sure the card, grade and subgrades match. Beckett says the underlying records are intact, so treat any mismatch as a red flag and raise it with Beckett customer service before you trust the slab. Phase 1 brings rebuilt systems, so the lookup page may look different when it returns. Our step-by-step on how to verify a graded card covers what to compare.

If you are choosing a grader for a submission right now, Express is the only Beckett tier open for mail-in submissions. Our CGC vs PSA comparison covers the main alternatives.

Where to Go From Here

Bookmark Beckett's update page and re-check any BGS purchases once lookup returns. If you would rather spend that time opening cards, the Polkastarter marketplace starts you off with a free mystery pack, and every Lootbox lists its contents, values, and chances before you open.

Details checked October 3, 2026. Service status can change at any time. Nothing here is financial advice. Polkastarter is not affiliated with Beckett or the other companies named.

Sources

• Beckett: Tech Updates, published October 2, 2026, accessed October 3, 2026
• Beckett: Express Submissions Remain Open, no publish date shown, accessed October 3, 2026