Cyber fraud is estimated to cost the global economy $400 billion a year, with travel’s transition to the digital realm it must deal with new threats and challenges. Breached data such as air miles, loyalty points, and travel website accounts are being sold on the dark web and are now available for anyone to purchase.

1. Cyber Fraud in Travel SKIFT REPORT 2016 1
CYBER FRAUD
IN TRAVEL
by
skift.com
Skift
Insights
Deck
Sponsored by

2. Cyber Fraud in Travel SKIFT REPORT 2016 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS ABOUT SKIFT
Skift is a travel intelligence
company that offers news, data,
and services to professionals in
travel and professional travelers,
to help them make smart
decisions about travel.
Skift is the business of travel.
Visit skift.com for more.
INTRODUCTION
DIGITAL FRAUD IN TRAVEL
DIRECT IMPACT OF DIGITAL FRAUD
TRAVEL COMPANIES: AN IDEAL TARGET FOR CYBER CRIMINALS
SECURITY BREACHES IMPACTING TRAVEL
POS BREACHES AND HOW TO AVOID THEM
OTHER TYPES OF BREACHES
THE DARK WEB
CYPHERPUNKS AND ONLINE PRIVACY: ORIGINS OF ONLINE PRIVACY
WEB VS DEEP WEB VS DARK WEB: THE THREE INTERNET CONTINENTS
TOR, THE ONION ROUTER: THE DARK WEB’S GATEKEEPER
HOW TOR WORKS
WHO USES TOR?
THE DARK SIDE OF THE DARK WEB: BEYOND THE PRIVACY ADVOCATING PIONEERS
DARK NET MARKETS: THE DIGITAL-ERA AGORA
DNM INVENTORY: DNMS BEYOND DRUGS AND WEAPONS
CRYPTOCURRENCIES
WHAT IS FIAT CURRENCY?
EARLY DEVELOPMENTS IN DIGITAL PAYMENTS
BITCOIN AND DIGITAL MONIES: THE BIRTH OF A NEW CURRENCY
CRYPTOCURRENCIES IN TRAVEL
BITCOIN — THE FUEL OF ILLEGAL ACTIVITIES?
CUSTOMER LOYALTY FRAUD — THE NEW CREDIT CARD FRAUD
LOYALTY POINTS’ WEAKNESS
DNM FINDINGS
AIRLINES
ACCOMMODATIONS
GROUND TRANSPORTATION
IN-DESTINATION ACTIVITIES
PREVENTION MEASURES
BREACHED ACCOUNTS
DOS/DDOS
SOCIAL ENGINEERING
KEY STEPS TOWARDS SECURITY
LINKS AND FURTHER READING
ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS
GLOBAL COMMERCIAL
PAYMENTS
Through its Global Commercial
Payments division, American
Express offers a suite of payment
and lending products that help
businesses and organizations of all
sizes gain financial savings, control
and efficiency. Global Commercial
Payments provides solutions
for travel and everyday business
spending, cross border payments,
global currency solutions, and
business financing.
To learn more about Global
Commercial Payments visit
business.americanexpress.com
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3. Cyber Fraud in Travel SKIFT REPORT 2016 3
INTRODUCTION
The transition of travel into the digital realm has opened
up new opportunities for hackers and cybercriminals to
compromise sensitive user and company information.
This Skift Insights Deck takes a deeper dive into the dark
web, an underworld of anonymous internet users that
stand to pose the next wave of threats to the digital travel
ecosystem. Here we take a detailed look, investigating
what the dark web is and what it isn’t. We dig into the
implications and evolution of the dark web, how pervasive
it is, and what travel brands need to watch out for.

4. Cyber Fraud in Travel SKIFT REPORT 2016 38
ABOUT SKIFT
Skift is a business information company focused on travel intelligence and offers
news, data, and services to professionals in travel and professional travelers, to help
them make smart decisions about travel.
Founded in 2012 by media entrepreneur Rafat Ali, Skift is based in New York City and
backed by Lerer Ventures, Advancit Capital and other marquee media-tech investors.
Visit skift.com for more.
LIKE WHAT YOU SEE?
Skift’s content studio SkiftX helps brands such as Amadeus, American Express,
Travel Channel, Hilton, and others create custom content, research, and
experiences for sponsors that influence the largest audience of travel industry
decision makers on the planet.
Contact us for more details:
Rafat Ali,
Founder & CEO, Skift
ra@skift.com
212-564-5830
Sponsored by
This project was researched and written by: Dave Montali, Luke Bujarski, Skift Team