FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - UA Account Hacked / Reports of Fraudulent Award Travel Redemption
Old Jan 6, 2014, 1:10 pm
  #13  
Often1
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Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
1. Do not use a 4-digit PIN, stick to a passphrase (UA can acommodate up to 20 characters).
2. Do not ever store CC information with online accounts (not just UA).
3. Call the CC issuer and have a new card # issued. The bad guys have your 3-digit code and can use the card for other stuff too.

This is almost certainly a commercial operation in which some suckers were sold ultra-cheap F /C tickets. Yes, they will now show up at some departure airport and their tickets won't be valid, but that is between them and the crooks who hacked your account.

There are a number of things which UA and others could do to make access more secure, but that would make customers crazy and they would complain. For instance, logging in could require that you enter a code texted or phoned to you. It could require you to answer security questions each time.
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