Fraud Prevention Best Practices for Airlines

The following best fraud prevention practices should be taken into consideration by merchants selling airline tickets:

• Screen high-risk bookings. Screening high-risk bookings will help merchants detect and prevent fraud before it occurs. Screening should be performed on transactions with characteristics such as:
  
  • Third party purchase.
    
  • First or business class tickets.
    
  • Electronic tickets that are not delivered to the billing address.
    
  • Date of travel that is less than six days after the ticket purchasing.
    
  • Customer who is not involved in a flier program.
    
• Use AVS for paper ticket sales. The Address Verification Service (AVS) can significantly enhance fraud control by enabling merchants to confirm whether billing addresses on file with card issuers match the information provided by ticket purchasers. However, AVS fraud chargeback rights do not apply to electronic ticket sales or to cases where paper tickets are not mailed to the billing address.
  
• Track fraud by ticket source. Implementing this best practice will help identify the areas with greatest risk exposure and develop remedial strategies. When tracking fraud, it should be compared to the volume of tickets sold by source, such as the internet, central reservations, ticket counters, and travel agencies.
  
• Participate in Verified by Visa and MasterCard SecureCode. These services can help prevent fraud and protect against fraudulent "unauthorized use" chargebacks.