MUSCAT: Fake travel apps, websites and bogus offers are on the rise as the majority of itineraries are done digitally.
“In view of the increase in travel-related cyber scams, holidayers should take precautions before booking," says Sunil D’souza.
"To begin with, the booking URL should be checked twice before entering payment details because the phishing pages disguised as airline, transport, or booking sites often use lookalike domains that are easy to miss at a glance."
A particular brand alone has thwarted nearly 270,000 cyber attack attempts over the last year, a report by a cybersecurity firm said.
The report, published by Kaspersky, shared safe travel insights to help tourists travel smarter and safer.
“These threats come in different forms and the first and foremost such threat is in the form of bogus transport brands, as booking a trip today means juggling ride-sharing apps, airlines, and online travel agencies, mostly often across multiple tabs and devices, often under time pressure to grab a good deal. This mix of urgency, trust in familiar brands, and constant switching between platforms creates fertile ground for cybercriminals, who disguise phishing pages, fake apps, and fraudulent offers abusing legitimate transport and travel services,” the report said.
The report suggests that attacks masquerading as a leading airline alone accounted for the largest share, representing 61 per cent of all detections associated with transport brands, followed by road transport apps with 37 per cent. The overwhelming majority of activity observed in this category involved leveraging the appearance of two leading brands, demonstrating how attackers can concentrate their efforts around widely recognised services with large audiences and frequent payment activity.
Among the types of cyber threats, Trojans were the most common threat type detected among files and objects associated with transport brands, accounting for 30.5 per cent of detections, with Trojan-Bankers following at 22.5 per cent. This type of malware is designed to steal banking credentials and payment information. In other words, cybercriminals impersonating transport brands aren’t just after a traveller's booking details — in the majority of cases, they’re going straight for the traveller’s bank account.
A plethora of cyber threats disguised as travel and accommodation services is also on the prowl, according to the report. As many as 5,414 attack attempts associated with these brands were recorded in one year.
“The threats most frequently distributed under their guise were Trojans, which accounted for 54.6 per cent of detections.”
Travel service accounts can contain payment details, personal information, booking histories and conversations with accommodation or activity providers, making them attractive targets for cybercriminals.
Tariq al Barwani, Founder of Tech Oman, suggests being wary of “too good to be true” deals, especially those requiring urgent action or unusual payment methods like wire transfers or gift cards.
"Make sure you're using strong, unique passwords for travel and transport accounts, and enable multi-factor authentication (MFA) wherever it's offered. Also, only download travel and transport apps from official app stores, and check reviews and permissions before installing. Monitor bank and card statements after booking travel, and report any unrecognised charges immediately."
The report further urges travellers to scan QR codes from trusted and verified sources, check website addresses and payment details before proceeding, and avoid downloading applications or files from QR code links unless their legitimacy has been confirmed.
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