Avoid Airline Scams When Booking Your Next Flight

Common schemes involve fake booking sites and bogus customer service reps

Ken Budd,

AARP

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En español

Published October 04, 2024

a phone with an airline customer service agent on it

Illustration: Patrick Leger

Several months ago, Susan and her husband, Bob, both in their 60s, got a flat tire on the way to the airport and missed their flight from Birmingham, Alabama, to Quebec. When she called American Airlines, the agent said there were no seats on any direct flights for the next three days, but United Airlines could get them to Quebec through Atlanta. So Susan, who has asked us not to use their real names, Googled the United website. And that’s when the trouble began.

The site she thought was United’s had a notice that their website was down and listed a phone number for bookings. Susan called the number, and an agent found a flight from Atlanta to Quebec. Their only option was two seats in business class. Fine, she said. But later when she checked her credit card account, she was shocked to find not one charge but two: A United charge for around $1,200, plus another $1,200 to a company she didn’t recognize.

Susan thought she’d spoken directly with United to book the ticket. But after searching for the mystery company online, she discovered she’d dealt with a booking agency — and it was charging exorbitant fees.

She is hardly alone in experiencing an airline-related scam, which often involve fake customer-service agents.

Targeting frustrated passengers

Complaining online about airlines may feel cathartic, but the companies aren’t the only ones reading your posts. Scammers and their bots are lurking on social media, searching for screeds from angry travelers about cancellations or delays. One scheme involves the criminals pretending to be airline customer service representatives and using fake social media accounts to contact frustrated fliers with offers to help. They then ask for information such as your booking confirmation number, phone number or bank account. They might even “send passengers to a spoofed site that harvests their personal information and use it to steal the passenger’s identity or rack up charges on their accounts,” the FTC warns.

How plentiful are fake customer service reps on social media? A 2024 investigation by Which?, a British consumer organization, found fake X (formerly Twitter) accounts for every major British airline, from British Airways to Virgin Atlantic. And the bogus accounts often responded to airline customers faster than the actual airlines, the organization discovered.

The messages from these bogus accounts often sound convincing. On September 22, a passenger tagged United in a post to complain about everything from the gate agents to customer service. United replied from its official account, but the poster also received a reply from “Monica United Rep” (@united_rep18873). “Hello there, we’re sincerely sorry for the inconvenience that you had encountered earlier,” the phony customer service agent wrote. “Share your experience with our company through a direct message for further assistance from our team.”

The passenger understood it was fake, noting that Monica had zero followers. And within a day, the account was suspended by X.

Common airline scams

Fake booking sites. It works like this: Travelers search for a bargain flight online and then book it on a company’s website. The buyers are soon notified that the price has increased or that they need to pay an additional booking charge. In an incident reported to BBB’s Scam Tracker site, a ticket buyer was informed that the original price was no longer available, instructed to pay a higher price, and told “that I could not cancel and I could not check luggage or have a carry-on unless I upgraded.” To avoid doing business with a crooked ticket site, research the company before you book a ticket. Conduct a Google search and use the company’s name along with keywords like scam, fraud and complaints.
Redirection to an independent booking agency. As Susan experienced, some scammers will direct you to a fraudulent site, often using malware on your phone or computer. That’s a scam tactic known as pharming. In her case, she was directed from what she thinks was United’s site but may have been a fraudulent one, to an independent booking agency. They’ll book your flight and charge you a hefty fee to do so.
Fraudulent customer service numbers. Some travelers have searched for an airline’s customer service number online and wound up dialing phony numbers. A fake customer service center might even appear at the top of a Google search. Michelle Couch-Friedman, the founder and CEO of ConsumerRescue.org, a consumer protection organization, noted in a story for Fodor’s Travel that there’s been an increase in victims asking for help after giving their credit card numbers and other info to fake airline customer service centers.
Phony cancellation notices. Some passengers have received a fake cancellation notice for an upcoming flight, along with a phone number to rebook. When you call the fraudulent customer service number from the text or email, you’re told you can buy a new ticket. Passengers then give their credit card info to book a new flight, even though the original flight was never canceled.

How to protect yourself

Catch your breath before booking. Victims of customer service scams are often rushing to rebook a flight — and their anxiety clouds their judgment. Susan says she wishes she had slowed down to consider some red flags, such as the fact that the man who booked her flight never identified himself as a United employee. “There were things I might have caught if I hadn’t been stressed and sleep-deprived,” she notes. Before hurrying to contact customer service or frantically doing a Google search, take a moment to calm yourself so you’ll think clearly.

Watch for aggressive tactics. “If a customer service agent is pushing you to buy a ticket now because you won’t have this price if you wait, that’s a red flag,” says Melanie McGovern, director of public relations and social media for the International Association of Better Business Bureaus, Inc. “They’re relying on desperate travelers to think, I just need to pay for this, so I’m going to pay whatever. But then it starts to escalate, and it’s an extra $200 or an extra $400, and you just pay it. That’s what they’re counting on.”

If you’re contacted on social media, scrutinize the sender’s account. The American Airlines account on X, for example, is @AmericanAir. It has 1.6 million followers. An account called “American Airlines customer service” (@_Americanairii) was created in September 2024 and has one follower. Better yet, see the next two tips.

Use an airline app. To avoid the risk of fake phone numbers, download the airline’s app on your phone. In addition to having the airline’s 800 number, you’ll receive official notifications about your flight along with other info.

Talk to a rep at the ticket counter. If you’re at the airport and you’re notified about a cancellation or delay, confirm the information on the airport departures board or talk to a human being at the ticket counter. “Instead of waiting at the ticket counter, people think, I’m just going to Google this number and bypass the line, but that’s where they get into trouble,” McGovern says. “Waiting and talking to someone is a good idea in this situation.”

Where to report the scam

When Susan saw the fee from the unknown company, she quickly contacted Capital One, which put a stop on the $1,200 charge. She later filed a successful travel fraud claim with the company.

Also report scams to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, IC3.gov.

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Ken Budd has written for National Geographic Traveler, Travel+Leisure, The Washington Post Magazine and many more. He is the author of a memoir, The Voluntourist.