The 12th annual Global Airline Action Days, a global operation to combat fraudulent online purchases of airline tickets, have resulted in the arrest of 79 people, European police agency Europol said in a press release on Wednesday
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 27th November, 2019) The 12th annual Global Airline Action Days, a global operation to combat fraudulent online purchases of airline tickets, have resulted in the arrest of 79 people, European police agency Europol said in a press release on Wednesday."During this international law enforcement operation, targeting airline fraudsters, 165 suspicious transactions were reported. Investigations have been opened and 79 individuals suspected of traveling with airline tickets bought using stolen, compromised or fake credit card details have been arrested or detained," the release stated.
The International Air Transport Association, 56 airlines and 12 online travel agencies also lent their support to the operation which ran from November 18-22. This year's effort had a particular focus on combating migrant smuggling networks, Europol noted.
"Airline ticket fraud is borderless by nature. This operation was the culmination of many months of meticulous planning between Europol, law enforcement, judiciary and border agencies, airlines and credit card companies, and is a perfect example of how our combined forces can make distinctive contribution in the fight against these criminal syndicates operating across borders," Europol's Deputy Executive Director Operations Wil van Gemert remarked in the release.
The 11th edition of the Global Airline Action Days, held in June 2018, resulted in 141 arrests.
Card-not-present fraud costs the airline industry an estimated $1 billion annually. Fraudulent ticket purchases are often connected with criminal activities, such as terrorism and drugs trafficking.
