Cyber security is a big topic for travel agents these days. Increasingly, criminals and fraudsters are getting more and more clever at stealing money transfers, acquiring banking details and fraudulently making bookings that travel agents end up having to pay for.

Jeff Element, COO at the Travel Agent Next Door says the company has seen a few incidents over the past year.  There have been three that have cost TTAND and its agent partners.

TTAND is sharing these examples to help other agents avoid this happening to them.

1. The first incident was when someone’s passwords were compromised. Bookings were made with their credentials and someone traveled but did not pay for the services.  The agent had to cover the cost of those bookings.
2. The second example was where someone’s email was compromised.  Someone went in and put a rule in the email setup on the computer where a copy of every email was sent to a third party.  Then when an Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT) was sent to that email address, the fraudster took the money.
3. The third example is where another email account was compromised.  Someone inserted themselves in a conversation between two people.  Then requested banking details be changed.  As it was part of an ongoing email conversation, it was not questioned until funds did not arrive at the appropriate destination.

Element said TTAND has taken several steps to try to prevent fraud. “We have turned on two factor authentication (2FA) on all systems that we could.  We have turned on 2FA for ClientLinq, our invoicing system.  We have also turned on 2FA on any email accounts provided by TTAND.”

Element said that TTAND has also instituted a requirement that all changes to banking details are confirm via phone on a number that is known to us in our system.

“We have also added a training video which is available to all of our agent partners.  The video shows agents what to look out for and how to protect themselves.”

Finally, TTAND has also provided links to tools like password managers, Anti-virus and Anti-Malware software.

Tips to prevent fraud for agents

Element said that the best advice he can give travel agents are the following 5 tips:

1. Install Anti-virus and Anti-Malware software on all computers
2. Sign up for cyber security training and redo the training annually
3. Never reuse a password.  Purchase a password manager to manage and strengthen passwords
4. Turn on Two Factor Authentication wherever possible
5. Never leave your devices unattended

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