Last Updated on January 30, 2023 by Rose Morah
Air ticket scams have been on the rise from the numerous reported cases of travelers who fall victim on a daily basis.
Even the most brilliant people have at one time fallen prey to ticket scams.
This article outlines the most common airline ticket scams and the tips to help you avoid falling victim.
Common airline ticket scams
1. Fake travel agencies and airline booking sites
Today many travelers are at risk of falling victim to online airline ticket scams from seemingly well-established travel agencies that even have functional offices.
2. Low fare scam tickets
This is how the scam takes place.
The scammer will first book air tickets with stolen credit cards.
And after they have gotten the ticket details from the airline, they will then go ahead and start scamming innocent buyers.
Some crooks also purchase airline tickets and then cancel them to get a confirmation number and a flight credit.
There are times when fraudulently obtained tickets have been used for human trafficking, drug smuggling, illegal immigration, and terrorism, to name a few.
3. Fake online websites
Scam travel websites are created to steal your information when you enter your credit card details.
They will first capture your credit card details. This includes the CVV, account number, and expiration date.
They will then send you messages to inform you that the transaction was declined, thereby giving you another option to wire the funds to complete the ticket purchase.
Some use other tactics such as sending you an error message indicating that there was a technical problem and the transaction is incomplete. Therefore, they will instruct you to go for another payment option such as paying the ticket via postal money order, wiring, etc.
Other travel website scams involve the creation of a fully functional website mimicking legitimate websites.
For instance, scammers may take a big site like exepidia.com and duplicate it into an almost similar domain name such as eXepida.com, exepidia.net e.t.c
They will then go ahead and add a different variety of travel destinations suited for different types of travel.
According to past statistics, over 20 million travelers made bookings through fake websites in 2016.
Tips for avoiding online airline ticket scams
- Before purchasing your tickets confirm if it’s from a legit website by looking for the IATA logo.
- But sometimes even fake websites have fake IATA logos. Therefore, if you suspect that it’s a fake website, be sure to ask for their IATA-accredited unique code and verify it on the IATA code-checking tool.
- Pay close attention to the domain and website names. A small difference in the name or domain such as .eu instead of .com or a letter can direct you to a completely different company. There is a high probability that these sites were made by online ticket scammers.
Before purchasing an air ticket, you can also run the website on scam-detector.com to check if the website is legit or is known to give customers hidden charges while buying the tickets. You only need to copy and paste the website’s URL.
- Avoid the purchase of airline tickets from classified websites that may be selling other things like holiday homes and cars.
- Always check to ensure that the booking website offers Terms and Conditions, a privacy policy, and a refund policy.
- Always Google customer reviews online to ensure the company is legit. But don’t over-rely on the website’s customer reviews as most of them are fake.
- If the price looks too good to be true, think twice it most likely is! But it may have been lowered to lure you into a trap and then scam you.
See also: How to Plan A Trip For Someone (Steps Involved).
How to know if an airline ticket is legit
- First, search for the name of the airline on Google.
- Then on the airline’s homepage look for “Manage Booking” or anything related to this option.
- Click on it and enter the booking information. This may include the 6-digit PNR. If it was booked by a travel agency, you may need to get the 6-digit PNR from them. You will also need to enter your name/ the name of the person on the ticket.
- After clicking the manage booking option, you will be provided with your itinerary. If this is a fake ticket, your itinerary will be missing.
These easy steps can help you know if your ticket is legit or not.
NOTE: Ensure it is “ticketed” not just “booked.”
See also: How To Go Through The Airport Security Faster.
How to identify fake travel agencies
The best way to know if a travel agency is IATA-accredited is by asking them to provide you with their IATA-accredited unique code and then verify it in this code-checking tool.
See the image below for an idea of what the code-checking tool looks like.
You can also check if an airline is an IATA member from here.
Can IATA help you with your airline/travel agency complaint?
No, IATA is not a regulatory body. Therefore, it cannot intervene in disputes involving agents or airlines and their customers.
