An international law enforcement operation against airline fraudsters has resulted in the detention and investigation of 130 individuals found in possession of tickets bought using stolen credit card details, reports the international policing body Interpol.
The two-day operation (16 and 17 June) was organized globally by: Europol in The Hague, the Netherlands; INTERPOL through its General Secretariat headquarters in Lyon, France, and the Interpol Global Complex for Innovation (IGCI) in Singapore; and Ameripol in Bogota, with support from Canadian and US law enforcement authorities.
With airline ticket fraud posing a range of security issues, targeting the organised crime groups active in this area requires communication between airlines, issuing banks, payment card schemes, International Air Transport Association (IATA) and law enforcement on an international level, say police. Those arrested were also found to be involved in other forms of crimes, including human trafficking, illegal immigration, smuggling, drug trafficking, fraud, cybercrime and terrorism. This year’s action – the fourth of its kind – ran at 140 airports in 49 countries.
Through the support of specialized officers in its Financial Crimes unit and the Digital Crime Centre at the IGCI, Interpol assisted with the rapid identification of wanted persons and stolen travel documents detected throughout the operation.
Thirty-eight companies (33 airlines and five travel agencies in Europe) reported fraudulent incidents to law enforcement deployed at the airports during the days of action. Payment card schemes, card issuers, Perseuss and the IATAsupported the operation by providing information to confirm any suspicious fraudulent airline ticket transactions.
Representatives from the private sector, including airlines and major credit card companies based at Europol’s command post, identified suspicious transactions and sent confirmation to law enforcement deployed at the airports.
Some 222 suspicious transactions were reported – 163 in Europe, 23 in Asia Pacific, 18 in Latin America and 18 in Canada. As a result, 130 persons were detained, denied boarding and questioned by police (101 in Europe, 11 in Asia Pacific, 10 in Latin America, two in the USA and six in Canada).
Wil van Gemert, Deputy Director Operations at Europol, said: “This operation was the culmination of many months of meticulous planning between Europol, law enforcement, prosecuting and border control agencies, airlines and credit card companies, and is a perfect example of how our combined forces can track down the organized crime gangs involved in this large-scale fraud and other offences.”
And Glyn Lewis, Interpol’s Director of Specialized Crime and Analysis, said: “This type of fraud targets not only innocent consumers by stealing their credit card details, but also poses significant security risks and INTERPOL will continue to support these types of global operations.”
