BALTIMORE — Holiday travelers are falling victim to sophisticated scams that cost them hundreds of dollars and compromise their flight reservations.
A Maryland woman experienced this with her Lufthansa flight in November, just three days before departure. She called during the government shutdown to check her flight status, provided her name and record locator, and the person on the line confirmed her itinerary.
The caller then charged her for an upgrade, but when she didn't receive a confirmation email and called back, she realized it was a scam and accused them of taking her money. Using her reservation details, the scammer then canceled her flight entirely.
"All you really need is a record locator. It's a six-digit alphanumeric code and the passenger's last name, and you can find a ton of information," said Clint Henderson, travel expert with The Points Guy.
Henderson explained that scammers constantly deploy fake websites and pay to list their phone numbers higher in search results.
"Every time the airlines get one of these fake sites shut down, a new account pops up on X, or a new account pops up online. It's very hard to regulate," Henderson said.
Travelers are also discovering their loyalty points and miles are at risk. Denise Freiji's Southwest Rapid Rewards points were spent by someone else in a single day.
"The one in Greece was like 207,000 points. The one in Belgium was like 280,000 points and the one in Brussels was like 25,000 points," Freiji said.
Half a million points disappeared in a matter of minutes - more than Freiji had ever used herself.
Southwest replaced the points as a one-time goodwill gesture, but Freiji was surprised to learn that replacement isn't required.
"Because they have a clause in their contract that says they are not responsible for lost or stolen points," Freiji said.
"I'm a travel expert, and I got my airline miles hacked," said Henderson. "Earlier this year, my American Airlines [account], I noticed suddenly 500,000 of my miles were gone, because someone had guessed my password that I hadn't changed since 1997. So, don't be like me. Make sure you're changing your password regularly, and I think the airlines are starting to go, and you're seeing this a lot more with the hotels now too, to two-factor authentication," Henderson said.
If you need to reach an airline, go to its official website or mobile app. Use the phone numbers listed or the chat function. Frequent flyer members may get shorter hold times, especially if you have status.
You can also message the airline on X by tagging their verified account. Trying an international support number can sometimes mean a shorter wait.
Other common travel scams include offers for free vacations that require you to pay fees or taxes, imposter sites claiming to handle passport renewals, and unlicensed travel insurance agencies. Before buying travel insurance, check that the agency is licensed. For more information on travel scams and how to report them to the Federal Trade Commission, click here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
