bogglesuk

OK. Should i be worried?

I just tried to book an Avios plus cash booking from ABZ to CDG for next month. One problem - avios balance now zero. As of today, i have 'manual ex-gratia' adjustment of minus 230,000.

Called the silver line - told my account has gone into audit and will get an email tomorrow that will have a link for me to respond to. No other details that should could give me.

I have a Vegas ex-EU in August but this is my first one and i will be taking the last leg back to DUB. Is this a random thing or have i done something dodgy i'm not aware of!!??

I only really fly DXB-ABZ 3-4 times a year, along with the odd trip to London.

TravellerFrequently

There are quite a few threads on audits.

It does not sound as though there is any obvious reason for an audit.

Hopefully BAEC will explain shortly and that the process will be fast and resolved quickly.

Please let us know how you get on.

corporate-wage-slave

You shouldn't be worried unless you have done something wrong. It's more likely that a strange transaction has triggered this. That includes a points transfer from another loyalty programme such as Tescos or a hotel chain, perhaps a big amount of Avios and with a different spelling of your name. Another one I know about is if you use your Avios to buy tickets (and other products) for other people, particularly if they don't look like relatives. Both cases are perfectly ok, but there are people out there who eBay tickets and points.

fourspoons

I also have an ex-DUB trip to Vegas in August booked. My account hasn't been touched so I don't think it would be that booking that has triggered it.

Hope you get it sorted asap. Maybe see you at the tables in August!

orbitmic

I presume that the question is sort of rhetorical - I know that those situations always feel worrying even if you have not done anything wrong. I confirm the scenarii that c-w-s has highlighted: buying award tickets for people who are not on your "friends and family" circle, transferring avios from other programmes (especially if it is multiple transactions etc, any family member having tried to use your BAEC number on their booking would all be "classic" causes of an audit from what we read about here.

People often start those threads (as rightly mentioned by TravellerFrequently but rarely update us after the original message, and in many ways, particularly in those instances, much of the advice we can offer to other members experiencing the same is based on whatever little people report back. If you could update us once you hear more, it would not only be much appreciated but will more importantly ensure that other people experiencing the same in the future can get as much support as possible.

Rickers

I think if you want people to update threads and give us all pertinent information to use in the future, then you shouldn't be categorising them in this way.

Tut tut tut

bogglesuk

Seems odd that it would happen the day I try to make an avios plus cash booking for myself, wife and child. Have done that once before for an upcoming booking, but for me and the wife as part of the positioning flight to DUB for ex-EU. We will be taking all those flights so we aren't trying to ditch a flight or anything. The DUB-LAS booking is showing twice under different booking numbers on MMB which is weird.

Never made any other redemptions, transfers and no part of any other avios programme. Hopefully just a glitch but bit a bit annoying as need my wife to make avios bookings for time being.

I'm based in DXB but have a UK address if that would cause an issue but presume lots of people have similar set ups?

corporate-wage-slave

Yes, that's not so unusual, nevertheless if you mix a series of trips, starting and ending in unusual places, odd Middle East credit card issuers, strange IP addresses, perhaps these Avios were transferred from an unusual source, bookings made for you from someone claiming to be your wife - well it's a long way from a hypothetical Mr Humphries, the retired civil servant in Cheam, booking his summer hols to Cyprus. I exaggerate for effect, and re-iterate that if you've done nothing wrong then you should be fine. Orbitmic makes a good point that the advice on offer here is constrained by the fact we get far more complaints about how this starts rather than how it ends, so what I have said above may well be complete rubbish, but please keep us posted.

TangoOneSeven

I too got an "account in audit" email yesterday. The email I received indicated that BA had "become aware of some unauthorized activity in relation to my account. This appears to have been the result of a third party using information obtained elsewhere on the internet" and advised me to change my password - which I then did.

Now, as far as I'm aware I am the only person who was using my account and have been searching one or twice a week for award availability, which I now cannot do as I have 0 avios as a result of this audit. I use my account both at home, at work and the mobile app.

My wife's account, on my household account is still OK but obviously the household balance is less my balance.

I have not taken an ex-eu flight, not missed any final legs, not booked an avios flight for others, nor credited any flights to BA for 4 months.

Gold line is "unable to give me information" of reason and or time expectation of this audit.

orbitmic

At least, in your case, the explanation seems pretty straightforward. I understand that this is inconvenient, but if indeed, someone tried to illegally used your avios, surely, it is a good thing that BA froze the account for a short period of time until it can be sorted out rather than let those dishonest people empty your account and possibly access your saved credit card or passport details?

corporate-wage-slave

See also this thread:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/briti...os-hacked.html

In particular the letter in post number 13.

This is showing signs that BA have discovered that a chunk of BAEC's members data has fallen into the wrong hands (I speculate, but I guess information held by an Avios earning partner), and since people double up passwords on multiple accounts they have taken this particular course of action.

Globaliser

Based on the wording of the email, quoted in the other thread, I wonder whether BA thinks that AwardWallet or some similar service has been hacked:-

TangoOneSeven

Could be. I don't use AwardWallet, or Acor (as noted in the other thread) though.

I can't actually think of anywhere else I might have my BAEC details logged in to/from that is not BAEC (no credit cards linked to it either).

I used to convert Tesco points, but that was around 4 years ago now...

bogglesuk

I got the same email and saw the other thread. Like i said in it, it seems odd that my account would be hacked the same day i tried to use abios - maybe it was a genuine attack or maybe they thought my DXB IP address was dodgy?

Either way, my account will be released once i change my password.

Good to see BA being safe rather than sorry i guess, despite the minor inconvenience. Good to know the feds are no longer after me anymore ^

TangoOneSeven

Could you please report back when your account gets re-activated? Just to put a rough timeline on this process? Thanks!