Credit Card Scams Are Still Popular

Travel agents love new clients, and when someone seemingly finds you out of the blue, it’s easy to get caught up in the moment and blindly pursue the sales opportunity.

But scam artists are good at manipulating human emotions and have an assortment of tricks up their sleeves to entrap travel agents in one kind of fraud or another. That’s why experts say a strong line of defense starts with questioning overtures from anyone you don’t know.

“Agents are susceptible to fraud because they are trained in customer service and want to help. Scam artists know this, and use it against them,” said Doug Nass, manager of fraud investigations at the Airlines Reporting Corp. (ARC).

“There are so many tactics these guys can use,” said Joseph Eck, marketing program manager at Kount, a company that provides fraud prevention software. For smaller agents, he said, “it really comes down to applying your common sense. Verify the source.”

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