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- To disrupt the flight: how scammers speculate on the topic of air tickets
To disrupt the flight: how scammers speculate on the topic of air tickets
Fraudsters can use various schemes on the topic of air tickets to deceive Russians, experts have warned about this. Attackers are in high demand due to the start of the holiday season, attracting potential victims to their phishing resources with lower prices. For more information about how scammers speculate on the topic of air tickets in 2026, what are the dangers of their tricks and how to protect yourself from them, read the Izvestia article.
What is the topic of airline tickets interesting to scammers?
Spring is the beginning of the holiday season: it is during this period that there is an increase in the cost of tickets, tours and accommodation, says the head of BI in an interview with Izvestia.ZONE Digital Risk Protection Dmitry Kiryushkin. According to the expert, users at this time want to find the most profitable options, and scammers, in turn, exploit the increased demand, attracting victims to their resources with low prices.
— BI.ZONE Mail Security experts analyzed the mail traffic for March-April 2026 related to flights and bookings, — says the expert. — In April, the share of letters about the purchase of airline tickets that were quarantined almost tripled. At the same time, the share of letters about booking accommodation decreased from 24.7% to 21.2%.
According to Dmitry Kiryushkin, this dynamic may be due to the fact that users are particularly susceptible to travel-related phishing attacks in the spring. Buying air tickets becomes one of the first stages of trip planning: you need to make a quick decision due to fixed dates and a limited number of flights. Against this background, phishing emails can prompt impulsive actions.
When buying airline tickets, users are used to transferring personal data and paying for services online, cybersecurity experts say. For scammers, this is a convenient opportunity to simultaneously receive money and collect information for further attacks.
What flight ticket schemes can we expect in 2026
In 2026, attackers began to call Russians more often on behalf of tour operators and offer non-existent tours and flights at a "special price" below the market, experts from the MTS Defender service say. If a potential victim becomes interested in such an offer, the scammer sends a link to pay for the alleged pre-booking of the order, and then disappears with the money.
—Scammers will offer discounts, sales, and resale tickets, while simultaneously choosing popular destinations and being especially active during the holidays and holidays, when many people want to fly on vacation, so the shortage can be quite real," says Alexandra Shmigirilova, GR director of the Security Code Information Security company.
According to Izvestia's interlocutor, with the help of modern technologies, primarily neural networks, attackers can create a convincing evidence base for their proposals: websites that look like real ones, copying the resources of banks and real-world tour operators. If we are talking about subsidized tickets, then digital tools allow scammers to forge official documents with which they will convince potential victims of their "legend".
In addition, according to Vitaly Fomin, head of the information security analyst group at the Digital Economy League, fraud related to flight delays and cancellations may become a separate trend. Against this background, phishing sites may appear with an offer to arrange compensation for the inconvenience caused.
—Attackers can also offer insurance against non—departure or flight delays at a price much lower than the market price," the expert predicts. — Believing such an offer, the passenger remains without insurance coverage and without the funds spent on it.
What schemes on the topic of air tickets have you encountered before
Meanwhile, online scammers have been trying to use flight ticket schemes for years. In particular, as Marina Probets, an Internet analyst and expert at Gazinformservice, says in an interview with Izvestia, fake airline or aggregator websites were common, offering tickets at low prices, but after payment they did not send confirmations or sent invalid tickets.
— There were often ads for the sale of "burning" or "subsidized" tickets by hand through social networks or bulletin boards, where after receiving an advance payment, the seller disappeared, — says the expert. — Fraudsters could also offer "assistance" in arranging complex routes or visas, requesting personal data and money, and then disappearing.
In addition, according to Marina Probets, phishing cases were not uncommon, when users received letters or SMS messages on behalf of airlines asking them to click on a link to confirm a reservation or check flight status, which led to fake pages for data theft.
Fraudulent schemes on airline tickets, as noted by Lev Afanasyev, head of Innostage's fraud prevention department, are aimed at a wide range of potential victims — attempts to obtain additional benefits encourage many to look for ways to save money. When an offer appears that seems very profitable, critical thinking is weakened, and people are more easily manipulated by intruders.
— The danger of such scams is not limited only to the loss of money, — adds Vitaly Fomin. — By giving fraudsters the booking number, bank card details, email address and other personal information, a person risks losing control of his account with the airline.
Attackers can write off accumulated miles, issue new tickets or change the data of an existing booking, the expert warns. At the same time, stolen personal information is often used to carry out other fraudulent schemes, and the disruption of a planned trip by itself can cause severe stress to the victim of scams.
How to protect yourself from fraud schemes on airline tickets
In order to protect themselves from fraud schemes on the subject of airline tickets, experts interviewed by Izvestia advise following certain safety rules. In particular, Evgeny Egorov, a leading analyst at the Digital Risk Protection department at F6, recommends that you do not follow links from SMS messages and instant messengers, even if they look like letters from well-known brands.
— Do not install applications from suspicious sources, and also check the sites where you enter your data, in particular, using Whois services, — says the expert. — It is worth paying attention to the date of domain registration, since attackers often register them just a few days before fraudulent actions.
In turn, experts of the MTS Defender service remind that real tour operators and airline representatives do not call customers by phone with offers about tours, and also do not require prepayment via SMS links. All bookings and prepayment are made through the official websites of the companies.
In the event of such a situation, it is necessary to immediately stop the dialogue and hang up the phone, as well as in no case follow suspicious links, experts urge. BI.ZONE AntiFraud experts recommend being wary of low-price offers, especially if the seller requires an urgent prepayment by transfer to a card. If you have any doubts, you should contact the airline yourself and clarify the existence of such an action.
— It is important to critically evaluate the offers, for example, to compare ticket prices with prices at other venues. We recommend checking for a secure connection and reviews about the service, as well as not following links from questionable emails and messages," concludes Dmitry Kiryushkin.
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