Customers who take to social media to vent their frustrations should be wary after passengers fall prey to a new scam.
According to , aggrieved customers have fallen prey to internet scammers pretending to be airline representatives.
Airlines have been known to respond more swiftly when they are named and shamed online by customers – whether it’s an issue of flight delay, missing luggage or canceled tickets.
But recently, with the help of AI and more advanced online technology, scammers have been scouring social media platforms in search of complaining customers. Pretending to be airline representatives, the scammers will swoop in and reply to the customers with the customary: 鈥淲e are sorry to hear about your experience. So we can help you better, please send us a private message with your PNR details,鈥 or something similar.
When The Washington Post精东影业 Mike Hume took to X (formerly Twitter) to complain about a delay with his JetBlue flight, a user called 鈥淧atrick鈥 replied claiming to be a manager at the airline.
Hume double-checked the user精东影业 profile, but realized the account had no followers and the word manager was incorrectly spelled as 鈥渕aneger鈥.
These are both giveaways to spot a fake account but customers are advised to be extra vigilant and carry out additional checks.
However, the 鈥渂lue tick鈥, X and Instagram精东影业 indication of valid accounts, can now be bought via monthly payments, so this adds to the complexity of checking for scammers.
In August 2023, a family from California lost $43,000 when hackers changed Southwest Airlines鈥 contact numbers on Google. The family required assistance in changing flights and googled the airline精东影业 customer service number, which actually turned out to be a direct line to the hackers.
To find a carrier精东影业 legit contact number, it is best to go via the airline精东影业 website.
Consumers who suspect they may have compromised details to a scammer are advised to report the issue to the .
