Airline Ticket Fraud Sting Nets 118 Arrests at 80 Airports Globally
Jeff Edwards December 01, 2014
Law enforcement from around the world led by INTERPOL coordinated a two-day crackdown on airline passengers suspected of flying with tickets purchased with stolen credit card information.
A two-day sting involving law enforcement from 45 countries nabbed 118 passengers at 80 airports around the world accused of traveling on airline tickets purchased with stolen credit card numbers. The police action, which took place on November 26 and 27, marked the success of a joint operation involving INTERPOL, Europol and Ameripol.
Representatives of more than 60 airlines and officials from Visa, MasterCard and American Express helped the global law enforcement agencies to identify more than 280 suspicious credit card transactions in which airline tickets were purchased. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), which also assisted law enforcement in the operation, the airline industry loses nearly $1 billion annually as the result of credit card fraud.
A statement from INTERPOL announcing the impressive results of the worldwide sting touted “the creation of a global alliance of airlines and law enforcement agencies who will be working together on an ongoing basis to combat online fraud and crime” as a lasting legacy.
Sanjay Virmani, the director of the INTERPOL digital crime center, noted working with the airline industry is essential for tracking criminals sophisticated enough to steal another person’s identity. “This type of fraud not only allows the criminals to procure air travel with victims’ credit card data, but also poses potential security risks for law enforcement. This operation highlights INTERPOL’s strong cooperation and partnership with the private sector which is vital to the success of detecting and preventing such crimes.”
[Photo: Interpol]
If 50% of the "nabbed" pax will ever be tried and convicted than the compensation for the 60 innocents whose trips were ruined will only outweigh the secured funds by a ratio of 5:1 to 10:1. But given the enormous cost of such an operation, the fiscal damage is likely 1,5 orders of magnitude greater than the salvaged credit card charges. It may be a good "show de force" for a multi government body like Interpol but there ought to be civilised method from the 21st century to tackle this issue other than rifling passengers and tampering with airline departure performance. Better validation and multi level CC security checks come to mind.