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Airfarewatchdog.com George Hobica explains how airline frequent flyer miles are a scammer target.
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It's now.
I had to stock latest cyber -- Going after your frequent flier miles George -- of airfare watchdog dot com joining us now from Los Angeles.
With a warning how widespread is -- I had heard this at all George.
You know it's amazing and this is getting getting more and more of a problem and what's happening is that cyber thieves are fishing for people's accounts.
And if you look at your old.
-- -- can't you -- there's -- -- security is not like your bank account where they have challenge questions for example like what was the color of your first car.
I think airlines need to step up on -- yet and George actually sent along to us.
This sample of email that cyber thieves use to -- frequent flier miles.
And it goes -- like this.
Dear XXX.
I'm pleased to inform you that -- qualified for an award of two round trip airline tickets please call me today at very fabric.
So what happens when I do call George.
Well what happens -- they ask you for your frequent flyer number.
And once they have the number of of the account number or even perhaps the password.
They can't just take the -- the miles out of your account.
But I know think this I didn't realize I was looking at my old United Airlines account and it might frequent flyer number is on my boarding pass and sometimes I leave that boarding pass on the plane.
My password and -- -- tell you what it is but it's just a four digit.
Pin code.
-- not very much security.
Pretty easy to do that about why don't the airlines if I get my frequent flier miles stolen.
One of the -- just make it up to me the way a bank would make up in my checking account of someone hacked into that.
Well they did what they wanna get rid of as many miles as possible they have too many miles and their books already and people can't spend them because -- enough seats available for the mouth and are very reluctant to add more miles into the system.
Now some people have you know 2.5 million miles.
That is a lot of money but that's the equivalent of several thousand dollars maybe ten or 20000 dollars worth.
Or even more of air travel -- the airlines really not interested.
In re -- reconstituting in my life is that you insist they won't do it.
Next up airlines higher hackers to go and steal my miles from the if there any part of you that -- -- sympathy for victims of this can't get -- we non that we did a cover story at Forbes -- seven years ago on fishing we know we're not supposed to chairperson information -- -- -- -- really change our passwords frequent.
-- There you know that did -- absolutely true that people do not change passwords often enough I just changed mine on the united.
I actually added at extra levels of security and new username not using my arm my frequent -- number which again is on those boarding passes I really recommend that people -- those boarding passes I know a lot of your viewers already do that Smart I don't touch.
But I'm gonna start doing that.
Shred your boarding passes all right we have taken from there thank you very much George public -- airfare watchdog dot com.
