The Issue Of Fraud In Airline Business Security

There are three methods for availing airline tickets. First is going to ticketing offices, second is by online booking, and third is booking through the phone. In old days, travelers book their tickets by going to airline offices. People go to travel agencies or ticketing offices, where face to face transaction takes place. For airline business security this is safer than other booking methods because travelers pay cash and even if they pay by credit cards the travel agent employee could ask for an identification card and check if the cardholder is the real owner of the credit card but on consumer side, there are some victim travelers obtain tickets from fake travel agencies or malicious insiders this is the reason consumers still need to be careful about choosing legit travel agency.

To determine whether the travel agency is legit or fraud, the travel agent or ticketing agency should have a physical office, fake travel ticketing agency usually have no physical office address, make sure they have business name and accreditations displayed. It is essential to see proof that the ticketing office has a business permits, license, registration certificates and accreditations before dealing with the agency. The other cons on this method are; the people need to go to the ticketing offices which could take much of their time by traveling, worrying about the traffic, finding a parking spot at the ticketing office, by the time they arrive, sometimes they have to wait for a long queue to get the service and most of the travel agencies or ticketing offices are not open 24 hours to accommodate clients. Later on, in late 90s and early 2000 people use online to book tickets.

Online booking is a convenient method of finding and booking flights over the internet because they can do it any time of the day or wherever they are via computer or smartphone as long as they have internet connections. Unlike the first method where people oblige to book on the spot without thinking it through first on this second method, it gives you more time to think and do some research on the best price available for your flight. There are many websites available to book and buy tickets but it is better to check on the official website of a chosen airline because some third parties booking websites are not legit, certainly buying directly from the airlines’ sites is typically always safe. Be watchful of travel phishing scams. These scam sites tempt travelers by presenting much lower prices for airline tickets than what is set on other sites. Once you click accept or click the link, the scammers’ capture all of your important credit card details and send you a message that the credit card transaction was declined. They will suggest; instead, you pay for the tickets by wiring funds or sending a money order. Just like that, they have stolen your card information and your money.

Nowadays travelers can easily book and buy tickets by a phone call. Criminals are taking advantage of airline call centers to purchase tickets with stolen credentials and take over customer loyalty program accounts such as Mabuhay Miles of Philippine Airlines, CebGo of Cebupacific Air and other airlines loyalty programs. Criminals can use email accounts and social media profiles to reveal or extract the identity of the target. These fraudsters could steal members’ passwords from another resource to dig up access to airline frequent flyer accounts. They can buy airline tickets with stolen miles and sold the tickets on the black market or take cash in rewards. The key for travelers to protect themselves from a fraudster is vigilance. We all know that the password is the first line of defense against frequent flyer frauds or airline loyalty program frauds. Definitely, the password is going to be a solution part in keeping airline program accounts secure. I would personally suggest a frequent change of password and use of a strong password with upper and lower case and a combination of alphanumeric characters. This could be a challenge, but it helps keep the travelers’ account and loyalty program account secure. This will not just protect the consumers but also the airline companies for losing revenues against the fraudsters.

Staying one step ahead of airline reward program fraud is not easy, but by putting the right systems in place and increasing awareness we can reduce the risks. The airlines typically utilize the service of call centers to accommodate flight bookings over the phone. I used to book airline tickets over the phone and use my credit card to purchase the tickets; obviously this method is not actually safe for the both consumer and producer. Based on my experience, the call center agent asked first for my name. Next, the call center agent asked me for the flight details such as the origin of the flight, the destination, the date of the flight, etc. , then the call center agent provided me the best price available as I requested. After I gave my personal details such as my full name, birth date, nationality, email address for passenger details, I also gave my credit card details for the payment. After approved payment and successful transaction the agent gave me my booking confirmation reference number and sent a copy to my email address. If you will notice, the move that I have made was so risky. I gave my credit card details to a call center agent. According to the International Air Transport Association (AITA), airlines are losing 1. 2% of their revenue to fraud that originates in the call center. Bookings are being rejected or canceled due to suspicion of fraud.