
The trade in fraudulently obtained airline tickets - sohkamyung
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10611-018-9777-8
======
agitator
I once had some fraudulent charges made on a credit card I own. I was
initially tipped off because a limo company sent a confirmation text to let me
know they would be picking me up in Texas (I was in California).
Interestingly, the text included an order number. I was able to use the order
number to access the reservation holders personal info through their website.
The personal info included a full name and the flight number of the flight
they were taking, pick up address etc.

I was able to find the person, their place of work online based on the pick up
location, which was their office.

I then realized that my credit card was also charged for a flight to SF. I
used that info to call the airline and cancel the flight and cancel the limo
after they had already checked-in. I was proud of myself, thinking that I
taught this person a lesson. Now in hindsight, this person probably had no
idea and that someone middle man was probably profiting off of the sale.

~~~
e40
I don't understand why everyone doesn't have alerts for cc transactions
greater than $0.01. You find out immediately when fraudulent transactions
occur.

~~~
supertrope
Excessive false positives. If your phone chimes after every store visit you
will learn to ignore banking notification SMS/email, including actually
suspicious transactions.

~~~
tgsovlerkhgsel
When done right (with chip&pin cards and notifying when the hold is placed not
on final settlement), the notification is instant (as in, usually before the
terminal even shows the transaction as approved, but sometimes a few seconds
later).

If the phone chimes when you're paying, you'll rightfully ignore it. If the
phone chimes at any other time, you'll check.

------
goatsi
Brian Krebs has written a number of pieces on travel fraud.

[https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/11/thieves-cash-out-
rewards...](https://krebsonsecurity.com/2014/11/thieves-cash-out-rewards-
points-accounts/)

[https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/01/flying-the-fraudster-
ski...](https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/01/flying-the-fraudster-skies/)

>“The story is simple,” Jeferi explained in a discussion thread that spans
five pages and includes questions from dozens of skeptical and interested
members. “The thing is, you are thinking as a criminal. Think about yourself
as a victim of an online scam. You saw an advertisement of a “Travel Agency”
in the Internet, and it seemed interesting. So you contacted them through a
forum and finally arranged a deal. The travel agency told you that the tickets
were last-hour tickets and that they were affiliate with the airlines, so they
could offer these kinds of prices, and you thought they were legit. OMG! I
never thought it was going to be a scam! Bastards!”

~~~
supertrope
Most scams rely upon psychological weakness in the victim. People aren't
stupid but when they're in the grip of fear or greed they are more likely to
lose money. If it seems too good to be true, it's probably a scam, stolen
goods, poor quality good/service, etc.

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hackermailman
A few airlines will send collection agencies after whoever used the ticket to
discourage ticket carding, pretty sure this scam isn't as lucrative as it used
to be in mid 2000s during the card fraud heydey despite article claims.

~~~
dx034
Also, some Airlines (esp in Asia) will require the credit card at check-in.
That way there's no way to use another person's credit card and fly on that
ticket.

~~~
e40
Yeah, learned the hard way that it's not a good idea to use a virtual cc# for
airline tickets.

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camillomiller
May I ask why is this considered research worthy a scientific article? Serious
question, not trying to downplay anyone’s work, but it’s just weird to read on
springer something that looks and reads like a magazine feature

~~~
caf
Criminology is a serious academic discipline. An acquaintance of mine has a
PhD in it.

~~~
camillomiller
I'm not dissing criminology, I was just dubious about the specific
scientifical value of this analysis.

------
klondike_
The TSA should be cracking down on this not hassling innocent passengers at
the airport

~~~
DrJokepu
With the exception of the Federal Air Marshal Service, the TSA is not a law
enforcement agency and has no investigatory powers. This is a job for the FBI.

