A cross-border crackdown on airline ticket fraud has nabbed 79 suspects.
A joint operation by law enforcement in 60 countries alongside six airlines and 12 online travel agencies was carried out at more than 200 airports.
Led by Europol, it detected 165 suspicious transactions between November 18-22.
The agency says most were related to illegal immigration or people traveling with fake IDs.
"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," said Wil van Gemert, Europol’s deputy executive director of operations.
Most of the transactions used stolen, compromised or fake credit card details.
Europol says airline ticket fraud costs the industry nearly $1 billion a year.
Although it is also prevalent across the travel booking ecosystem, ‘airline companies are among the most affected by CNP fraud,’ Europol said.
