Travel industry leaders are warning agencies to stay alert as fraudulent schemes targeting travel retailers grow more frequent and sophisticated.
Both ACTA and the World Travel Agents Associations Alliance (WTAA) have issued alerts citing a surge in fraudulent activity such as stolen credit card bookings, impersonation schemes and phishing attacks designed to exploit travel agencies.
As reported earlier this month by Open Jaw, the WTAAA has issued an urgent global fraud warning after uncovering a sophisticated scheme that exploits legitimate agency IATA accreditation numbers to gain NDC access and issue large volumes of fraudulent airline tickets. Advisor groups in Canada and the US have confirmed cases now reported across multiple markets in North and South America and attempted activity detected elsewhere.
Nexion Travel Group this week noted “fraud targeting travel advisors is on the rise.” A press release advises retailers to reach out for support: “For both new and experienced travel advisors, this environment underscores the importance of strong training, awareness and support.”
TDC’s Manager of Business Development, Stuart Morcombe, told Open Jaw fraud and consumer abuse of credit card charge backs is becoming a significant issue for agencies, and that a number have been aggressively targeted with fake air bookings.
“The incidents are growing at an alarming rate and can be quite costly,” he said.
Canadian advisor Judith Coates told Open Jaw she’s educated her team on being wary of inquiries with travel requests rom unknown prospects, “but email scams are definitely on the rise.”
Coates said she gets about one every week, with requests for extremely detailed travel arrangements. Initially the wording “seemed too impersonal,” she said, however, the emails are becoming more and more sophisticated.
Senders of the emails sometimes agree to a Zoom call to try to appease advisors’ concerns, Coates explained, but then when its time for the call, they email the a new link which takes advisors to a scam website with dangerous malware.
Nexion says the new sophisticated environment underscores the importance of awareness training.
“Education and awareness are critical in today’s environment,” said Jackie Friedman, CTC, CTIE, President of Nexion Travel Group, an organization she said has consistently prioritized fraud education and prevention as part of its core member support. “We’re committed to helping our advisors recognize risks early and operate with confidence.”
Nexion said it equips its members with ongoing fraud prevention training and best practices, timely alerts on emerging scams impacting advisors and access to a collaborative community where advisors share insights and experiences. The company also offers “Fighting Fraud Fridays,” a dedicated initiative focused on real-world fraud scenarios, prevention tips and advisor education.
Supplier partners also play a critical role in preventing fraud, Friedman added. For example, Nexion works with tour operator partners to validate that last-minute bookings are made by clients known to the booking advisor.
Nexion also has its SNAP Air Desk and mid-office systems check known red flags before tickets are issued. “With this method, we’ve been successful in catching potential fraudulent tickets before they’re issued,” she said.
