Police Arrest 79 in Credit Card Scam as Airlines Lose $1 Billion

(Bloomberg) -- The European Union’s law-enforcement agency Europol said it worked with airlines, payment card companies and authorities across the world to arrest 79 people suspected of traveling with tickets bought using stolen, compromised or fake credit-card details.

Airlines are among the most affected by this type of credit card fraud, with industry losses estimated at nearly $1 billion a year, Europol said Wednesday in an emailed statement. The scams are often linked to more serious criminal activities including irregular immigration, trafficking in human beings, drug smuggling and terrorism, the agency said.

“Airline ticket fraud is borderless by nature,” Wil van Gemert, Europol’s deputy executive director operations, said. “This operation was the culmination of many months of meticulous planning between Europol, law enforcement, judiciary and border agencies, airlines and credit card companies.”

The operation, which took place between November 18 and 22, involved 60 countries, 56 airlines and 12 online travel agencies, Europol said. It didn’t give details on where the arrests occurred.

To contact the reporter on this story: Gaspard Sebag in Paris at gsebag@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Anthony Aarons at aaarons@bloomberg.net, Christopher Elser

©2019 Bloomberg L.P.