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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Flying the Fraudster Skies

Summary: Underground criminal travel agencies are booking last-minute airline tickets and hotel stays under buyers' real names using stolen credit cards or hijacked travel-industry accounts, charging customers 25 to 35 percent of the actual cost. The Airlines Reporting Corporation reported 113 fraudulently booked tickets between August and November 2011, up from 18 in all of 2010, with the unauthorized tickets' aggregate face value exceeding $1 million, which ARC attributes mainly to phishing emails targeting travel agency employees and contractors.

What you should know: A hacker using the nickname "Yoshimo" advertises 80-95 percent working flight tickets at 25 percent of the original price and has at least 275 positive reviews over more than two years, while the proprietor "Jeferi" tells buyers to pose as scam victims if stopped - a fraud channel that has already moved more than $1 million in ticket value through ARC's reporting alone.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Data Breaches
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