Airline Ticket Scam: Lakhs of customers wait for bumper discounts on air tickets to travel by air. Before the festive season, many airline companies offer special discounts on tickets. But, you will be surprised to know that many cybercriminals are taking advantage of this opportunity to harass people. This disclosure has been made by the International Police i.e. INTERPOL itself.
The criminals carrying out airline ticket scams are very cleverly making customers their victims. Interpol has given information about this entire scam and has also given ways to avoid this scam. Let us know how the air ticket scam is being carried out.
What is an airline ticket scam?
To commit airline ticket scams, these vicious criminals purchase tickets with stolen or hacked credit cards and sell them to customers. These criminals use official-looking websites or social media platforms like airline companies to sell tickets. Through these fraudulent means, these criminals claim to offer tickets at unbelievable prices by claiming bumper discounts. According to the Interpol report, when a customer buys a ticket from these websites, the criminals ask them to make immediate payment through UPI and net banking. Once the customer makes the payment, they send the booking details to the customer, but delete the original purchase details.
Flight ticket will be canceled
Although the ticket is original, it is actually paid for with a stolen or hacked credit card. If the owner of the stolen credit card reports the illegal purchase before your trip, customers purchasing these tickets could be in trouble. In such a situation, your flight ticket will be declared invalid and the airline company will cancel your ticket. This means that your money will also be lost and you will not be able to travel by air.
How to identify this fraud
Interpol claims that detecting this scam is a challenging task for the common man. Because these scammers often create fake websites and social media profiles that look certified. Apart from this, they also trap customers by misusing the identity of travel agents. But, there are some methods through which such fraud can be easily avoided.
Low ticket prices: Get alerted if a flight ticket seems cheaper than other tickets.
Last-minute departure dates: Scammers try to take advantage of the period until the genuine cardholder cancels the transaction, so be on the lookout for tickets with departure dates in the coming days. Never book flight tickets one or two days in advance.
Contact Information: Before booking, please verify that the telephone number and full address are listed on the company's website or social media accounts. If it is not so then do not make the booking.
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