'Beware: Fake Airline Tickets Circulating, Travelers Urged to Verify Before Flying!'

  • 20/01/2025

The increase in creating fake flight tickets has become a growing concern in the travel world. These online tools are designed to produce manipulated documents that are strikingly similar to real airline tickets. It is very common during these days that passengers are holding such manipulated fake tickets, approaching airports but unfortunately, denied check-in due to holding no confirmation or seats as these are fake tickets which most of the passengers are not aware of.  They are cheated either by the non-established travel agents/staff or middlemen those in the pretext of helping them to get their tickets, acting as a sincere supporting hand.  Ultimately, the passengers are losing their hard-earned money and moreover, their entire travel plans are also affected. They are forced to buy new tickets, sometimes with a higher rate due to the non-availability of lower fares and closer to the departure travel dates and penalize them to spend additional money apart from the money paid to get the previous fake tickets which are no way refundable from the concerned travel agents as they have no record on such tickets.  As per the Kuwait airport airline authorities, they are daily facing such problems that passengers are approaching the check-in counters with fake tickets and these tickets are either fabricated from the computer as typical original tickets or just making reservation and passing the same to passengers as original tickets, collecting the money from them, then cancel the booking which means, no confirmed ticket has been issued and not even a live booking in the system.

This should be taken as seriously as there are many accusations against travel agents as passengers are having a wrong notion that this has been knowingly done by the travel agents.  This creates distrust within the travel industry and makes it harder for customers to feel confident about their travel arrangements. Up to a certain extent, few of the unprofessional travel agents are also involved in it, but it depends on the type of agents you are approaching and operating in this field as many of them like seasonal agents whose credibility is always a question mark?  That’s the reason, Know Your Source is important to consider where you bought your ticket. Reputable booking platforms are far less likely to sell fake tickets compared to lesser-known agencies or individual sellers.

One of the main reasons caused to create such fake tickets are the shift towards electronic tickets further complicates the landscape for travelers relying on fake documentation as it is so easy that anyone can do it. 
How to escape from such fake tickets that the passengers should be aware of? As travel becomes increasingly digitized, the challenge of fake tickets are growing too, therefore, it is very important to educate the passengers for not to get into such wrong strings as there is a racket working behind this field to cheat them. Distinguishing between a genuine ticket and a fake one is becoming increasingly tricky, but there are some telltale signs to look out for, as follows: -
1. Never approach any freelancer/middlemen for your airline tickets 
2. These freelancers/middlemen may offer you tickets worth of huge discounts compared to the prevailing market fare but don’t fall into these traps as you should understand that offering such huge discounts itself is a trap to grab your money.  Normally, there may have a narrow difference in fares between travel agents but never can have such huge discounts which itself an alert to you as knowing these discounts, there might be a desire to cut costs or secure travel arrangements but using these fraudulent documents can land you in serious legal trouble
3. Once you made a reservation with a travel agent, please make sure to get the customized ticket copy from the travel agent (always the ticket copy should be having the monogram of the travel agent with complete address)  
4. Always noticed that those in mind to cheat you will put their own or someone’s contact numbers in the fake booking/tickets which should not be allowed, therefore, you should see through your contact number should be inserted in the booking 
5. Make sure that the travel agent staff who issued the ticket should mention the airline telephone number on the ticket and booking reference (PNR) which you should counter check with the airline whether the booking is active or not?  You should do it on the same day that the ticket has been purchased or latest by the next day as this will make you comfortable that you got a live and confirmed booking for your travel.  Don’t call the airline on your closer date of travel as you may find it difficult in case of any last minute hassles 
6. When you call the airline, please make sure of confirming two things from them, 1) the booking is confirmed or not? 2) and the ticket/s are issued? Travelers can also verify the legitimacy of your ticket using the PNR on the airline's official website rather than calling them as most of the time, it is difficult to get their lines. Many airlines utilize dynamic QR codes on their e-tickets. These codes change frequently and are linked to a specific flight itinerary, making it nearly impossible for counterfeiters to copy
7. There is another option called, **Mobile App Verification**: Many airlines mobile apps offer real-time ticket verification features. You can simply scan your ticket against the airline's database, giving you peace of mind before heading to the airport
8. Never and ever, you should not give the ticket’s money to a middleman/freelancer or a travel agent staff.  A travel agent staff may also play behind you to cheat and that’s the reason, we repeat, don’t pay the money to the staff rather than directly to the travel agency if there is an official Cashier appointed by them or to the concerned authorities 
9. If you have the option to physically present to take the ticket from the travel agent, you should get a receipt for the money paid and that’s should be your document or evidence against the settlement of ticket, otherwise, you have no claim towards the money paid
10. If you are not in a position to visit the travel agent for taking the ticket, you can ask for the ticket copy through what’s app or e-mail along with the payment link details to settle the money 
11. Here also, you should not send the money to a personal account of any staff or middlemen other than the travel agent account 
12. Next step is to check with your account to make sure whether money has been transferred to the travel agent
13. Finally, you confirm with your account that the money has been transferred to the travel agent, then contact them to send you a copy of the receipt against the money you settled for your records (If possible, collect the original receipt)
If you would be able complete the above cycle, you can avoid up to a certain extent of unknowingly purchasing fake tickets which makes you to suffer substantial financial losses, often being denied boarding, losing your money and finally, your entire travel plans are affected. In addition to it, you have to spend an additional amount for buying new tickets to travel.     
Not only the airline fake tickets but Visa applications are also often subject to scrutiny, and using fake flight documents could result in a permanent denial of entry to a country. This is not just a minor inconvenience; it could affect future travel plans to other nations that share immigration information. Additionally, many travel insurance policies explicitly exclude coverage for losses incurred due to illegal activities, including using fake tickets. So, not only could you face legal trouble, but you might also be left to bear the financial burden of any problems that arise from using these fraudulent documents.

At Caesars Travel Group, **Spread the Word** launching public awareness campaigns to warn travelers about the dangers of buying tickets from unofficial sources. These campaigns are emphasizing the importance of “How to Avoid Travel Scams, buying fake tickets etc.”. We have explained you the above details as the ease of creating and distributing fake tickets are increasing like anything, therefore, it is essential for travelers to exercise caution and to follow the above guidelines in order to avoid the financial burden of any problems that arise from using these fraudulent documents and protect your travel as safe as possible.

 
P.N.J Kumar
Chief Executive Officer
Caesars Travel Group – Kuwait & India

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