The travel sector is a lucrative industry as it makes for a staggering 10.2% of the
global GDP. Certain factors that make it a soft target for fraudsters are the fact that
there are high-value payments involved and there are numerous players in the
picture all over the world. Three of the most common types of fraud that affect the
travel industry include payment fraud, cyber attacks, and identity theft. The sector
ends up losing an overwhelming sum of nearly $21 billion every year due to fraud
and the figure is suspected to rise even higher. As fraudsters become more
elaborate with their schemes to defraud businesses it is important for the latter to
adopt some preventive measures, rather than only implementing fire fighting
ones.
1) Educate Employees on Prevalent Fraud Techniques
Employees, particularly the front line staff must be aware of the latest fraud
techniques used by scammers. They should be aware of certain warning signs that
indicate that fraud might be in play. Make sure they know about different social
engineering and phishing scams. Develop a system where they adopt a sound
system to check and authenticate customers and transactions. Develop protocols
for when they see a fraudulent transaction they can catch and block it immediately.
Make Your Payment Systems Secure
Travel businesses use all sorts of payment methods to assist customers to make
transactions conveniently. Modern technology has enabled for better and more
secure payment systems. Mobile payments like Apple and Samsung Pay allow for
fast and more secure transactions. Virtual cards are also another method currently
being used as a payment method. They can issue a unique 16-digit number that is
valid for single use and has been able to reduce fraud significantly.
Know Your Customers as Best as You Can
Obtaining customer details is a tricky part. However, travel business including
airlines and hotels must make sure to get to know their customers as much as
possible. Standard details like name, phone numbers, DOB, nationality, and
payment information must be obtained. This helps them to authenticate customers
effectively. For a faster yet more efficient way of verifying customers, use digital
identity verification services that can authenticate customers using AI-enabled
verification software. It makes for faster and more efficient customer registrations
as well.
Implement Robust Cyber Security Defences
For nearly every business, particularly that use online channels to engage
customers, it is extremely essential to implement a good cybersecurity defense. In
addition to business level anti-malware systems, the travel sector should also
encrypt their sensitive customer data. Additionally, they must keep an eye out for
suspicious activity and observe login patterns of customers effectively. If they see a
login from a customer from a completely different IP or location than the one listed
in their records, they must immediately move to block or investigate the activity, at
the very least. Other measures can include KBA (Knowledge-Based Authentication)
methods and biometric verifications to verify the customers’ identities.
