Airlines act against e-ticket fraud

Calcutta: The next time you buy an air ticket online for someone you know, don’t forget to give that person an attested photocopy of your credit card because airlines are becoming stricter in implementing a fraud-prevention rule that has been in existence for some time. The high incidence of identity theft — all you need for an online purchase is the credit card number, the expiry date and the three-digit CVV number printed at the back — is the reason why airlines are insisting on fliers carrying photocopies of credit cards if their tickets have been booked by someone else.
“Henceforth, if any passenger fails to show the photocopy of the credit card attested by its owner, the ticket will be cancelled and a fresh ticket issued. The owner of the card will get the refund,” a Jet official said. The system is, however, far from foolproof. A card that is stolen can be used to buy tickets, photocopied and presented as proof of the purchase being bona fide.
There have even been instances of hackers cracking online payment gateways with fake credit card numbers and purchasing tickets. In such cases, airlines incur losses. Most frauds are committed by small-time tour operators. "Tickets are issued usually 24 hours before departure, giving us little time to detect the fraud," a Deccan official said.
10/07/08 Sanjay Mandal/The Telegraph

To Read the News in full at Source, Click the Headline

Categories: Indian Aviation- In General Jul 2008