By NATALIE MARTIN

After issues with fraudulent ferry ticket use in the San Juan Islands, ferry riders throughout the system will now be required to provide their original multi-ride tickets or photocopies of tickets, as ticket numbers only will no longer be accepted at the dock.

The change, which begins Sunday, comes after a number of ferry riders in the San Juan Islands recently complained that someone had gotten access to their ticket numbers, though not their physical tickets, and had used them without permission to pay for ferry rides, according to Marta Coursey, a spokeswoman for Washington State Ferries.

Police in the San Juans conducted an investigation, but were unable to identify the fraudulent ticket users. At the same time, WSF reviewed its own ticketing system, and Coursey said they determined their system was not compromised.

WSF chose to change its policy to prevent any further issues, she said.

“We understand that some people are unhappy with this modification because they enjoyed the ability to give out their number freely to family/friends,” Coursey said in an email. “However, requiring either a hard copy ticket or a printout of a ticket is a reasonable expectation for customers and protects everyone throughout the system.”