Gosh, this is mighty tempting, I just don’t know what the best angle is…
In this post:
I found the people who stole our Alaska miles!
In August 2024, I wrote about how Ford’s Alaska Mileage Plan account was hacked, and miles were stolen. Specifically, 230,000 miles were taken, and were redeemed for two Qatar Airways business class tickets departing Lagos.
Fortunately airlines are typically pretty good with handling fraud, and I documented our experience dealing with this situation. Long story short, Ford’s miles were reinstated, and his Mileage Plan account is permanently “locked.” When he wants to redeem, he needs to call Alaska and provide a PIN, and then they keep his account unlocked for a few hours so that he can redeem, before locking it again.
For the past several months, we haven’t redeemed any miles out of his account. However, last night, we needed to make a redemption. So he unlocked his account, and then I logged in, only to find something interesting.
Specifically, when going to the page where you enter passenger information, there was a full name and date of birth that was pre-populated, which I hadn’t yet seen. Also, when looking at the Alaska Mileage Plan account activity page, it displayed the full names of the two passengers that the tickets had been booked for (below is that page, with the confirmation numbers and names omitted).
Here’s the thing people might not know about me — I love investigating things, and going down rabbit holes, whatever the topic may be. As an introvert, I could spend hours just researching something (I don’t usually have that kind of time nowadays, but when I do…). That effort is currently being put into something industry related (y’all will find out soon), but I couldn’t help but do a little bit of sleuthing here as well.
It didn’t take that much effort, but I managed to find the social media accounts of these people. At least one of the people is very open about her life, and she seems to be quite the jet set Nigerian. She has lots of great pictures from Doha, and even flying in Qatar Airways business class. She even has birthday posts matching the birthday that was listed in the Mileage Plan profile.
I’m really tempted to confront this traveler
Maybe I’m getting a little too “Trafficked With Mariana van Zeller” on y’all, but I’d really like to get to the bottom of this.
I’m so tempted to confront the traveler, and send her a message on social media. To be clear, I suspect she’s not the actual “thief” who is personally hacking accounts, but instead, I suspect she purchased the ticket from someone who claims to offer cheaper premium tickets.
Now, I don’t know to what extent she’s aware of how the ticket is booked, and/or that this violates the rules. My goal with confronting her is simply to learn more about the black market for tickets booked with stolen miles in Nigeria. This is a major problem across the globe, but it works a bit differently in each country. I’m curious what the system is like in Nigeria.
Is that idea just totally stupid? If it’s not, what’s the best angle for confronting her, though? “Hey, I have your name and date of birth, and a ticket was fraudulently booked out of my account for your travel. I’m not mad, I just want to learn more about how this happened.” Maybe that’s not the best intro.
Or do I create a fake account, compliment her jet set lifestyle, and ask if she has any tips for getting deals on business class flights?
Bottom line
While there’s a huge underground network of people buying and selling stolen miles, I’ve never had a situation where information has so directly been revealed to me about who stole miles. I have the names of the two people who booked tickets with stolen miles from Ford’s Alaska Mileage Plan account (and for one traveler, I even have the date of birth).
Of course we didn’t actually lose anything here, since Alaska protects consumers from this kind of fraud. However, with one of the traveler’s having a social media account showing off quite the lifestyle of premium cabin flights, I can’t help but want to learn a little more. I’m not sure she’ll open up, but is it worth a try?
What do you think — should I message this traveler, and if so, how should I go about it, and what should I say?
This sounds like a great collaboration with Pleasant Green. You need specialized experience to communicate effectively with scammers in Nigeria, and Pleasant Green has years of experience doing this.
I would suggest the FBI / Interpol route as a cause for your own protection.
Its all well and good watching mafia's, triads in movies, but this is real life, your life. Be easy.
I know a couple Albanians who can take care of the problem for a case of Heineken...
What will confronting the person do to solve the situation or resolve the situation? What benefit will be gained by doing this and what could the drawbacks be? How do you know if this person really did that? May be it happened even beyond their knowledge. The truth is the airline handled it appropriately in that of reinstating the points. Cost you some time, but that's about all.
I am not sure how redemption on 3rd party airline works.
I wonder if Alaska is pursuing it with Qatar? Is Qatar out the monetary value? If so, then will Qatar pursue the "alledged" user of the hacked miles?
An answer would be appreciated.
Big agreement in this blog in another „what shall I do“ clickbait story from Ben, to report a Flight Attendant wearing earpods during climb and descent (without knowing anything further).
Big reluctance here to report someone who apparently flew on an illicit ticket for which originally your air miles were stolen?
Seriously?
One is starting to form the opinion that it us, the readership of this blog, who are being ‘scammed’.
Ben throws out these ‘click-bait’ stories and then sits back to watch the contributors take chunks out of each other in response. A bit like the Romans who would watch the slaughter of the slaves, Christians or Jews in the Arena. One observes that when there is no review or guide to publish, a controversial...
One is starting to form the opinion that it us, the readership of this blog, who are being ‘scammed’.
Ben throws out these ‘click-bait’ stories and then sits back to watch the contributors take chunks out of each other in response. A bit like the Romans who would watch the slaughter of the slaves, Christians or Jews in the Arena. One observes that when there is no review or guide to publish, a controversial news or insight article suddenly appears asking the readership for advice.
One is yet to read what conclusions Ben, etc, have drawn from the readership responses to previous articles, therefore, one must conclude that the article was written simply to draw out comments. A true click-bait article and who can blame him/them?
Finally! Someone else accurately perceives what the 'real game' here is. I can't add much except to say: more clicks = more $$$$.
And nothing generates clicks like a frenzy of outraged lemmings keen to air their opinions on whichever political or social issue gets thrown at them. 'Real' aviation and travel issues just don't pay the bills any more, it seems.
This website sure used to be about miles, points, and related strategies. Now it seems news stories and clickbate frequents the postings. I have also commented that there seems to be no reviews beyond business class and that some of the prior advice doesn't take into account many people's real situations - the blogger's job is to review everything but many people won't have so many credit cards....
"there seems to be no reviews beyond business class"
1. that's not even factually true
2. who cares about coach reviews, they're more or less all the same anyway
3. what'd be the point of whining about it even if it were true (which it isn't), it's free. You've lost nothing
I am glad you watch "Trafficked" with Mariana Van Zeller. She is the best journalist who covers the most dangerous investigative reports in all drugs, counterfeit $$$, black markets for body parts, medications and assassinations, embargo oil, etc... She is multilingual in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. She covered Nigerian scam but her team had to hire a former British intelligence agent to protect the crew. She went deep into the drug cartels' territories throughout...
I am glad you watch "Trafficked" with Mariana Van Zeller. She is the best journalist who covers the most dangerous investigative reports in all drugs, counterfeit $$$, black markets for body parts, medications and assassinations, embargo oil, etc... She is multilingual in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French. She covered Nigerian scam but her team had to hire a former British intelligence agent to protect the crew. She went deep into the drug cartels' territories throughout central and south America to get answers. You should contact her to pursue this matter on your behalf without exposing your identity. I learned from her episode that the Mexican cartels buy high powered weaponry from LAPD. No wonder the US lost the war on drugs when the country's most famous law enforcement is engaged in guns trafficking.
Qatar Airways office staff are quite indifferent and couldn't careless to go an extra mile for you. Qatar has strict laws in the country but not outside the border. You should pursue this matter so we all benefit from the result, without personally involved in the investigation. When we understand the root cause of the problem and how to protect ourselves from the scams, we uplift each other in the miles game.
Post a question, not a statement. Post on her FB a question asking "Are you the person who tried to use my Alaska miles last year?"
So much scared and weak Western men. It’s no surprise Europe is falling to us and soon the U.S. The comments make me laugh and warm my proud heart. Such weakness. Such timid. Within 50 years, Europe and the U.S. will be strong again under Sharia law and this weakness and filthy degeneracy will be gone.
Ha! A serial charlatan cheating others and supporting other such cowards. I wonder how you don’t realize that when you lot started this type of crap, you got away with everything. And now we are tired of allowing you your ‘charity’, we are finally going to comeback at you. Some, like Ben, are very nice and will follow all official methods. Not because they are fools, but breaches they are gentlemen. But trust me, there...
Ha! A serial charlatan cheating others and supporting other such cowards. I wonder how you don’t realize that when you lot started this type of crap, you got away with everything. And now we are tired of allowing you your ‘charity’, we are finally going to comeback at you. Some, like Ben, are very nice and will follow all official methods. Not because they are fools, but breaches they are gentlemen. But trust me, there are enough of us who are worse than you…worse because we were first and are experienced. And we are not as legal…..thanks for the IP ADDRESS. WATCH YOUR BACK…
@NieveFOOL, You miss my point. You are not too smart. I am not the scammer but commenting on the timid Western posters who are afraid. Read my comment again, fool. You really think that the same Nigerians who stole points know he owns this website? Again, not smart. Do I have a Nigerian name? Fool!
As for threats from you: Clown. I have a blocked fake IP address. Dont you? Doesn’t everybody today? So...
@NieveFOOL, You miss my point. You are not too smart. I am not the scammer but commenting on the timid Western posters who are afraid. Read my comment again, fool. You really think that the same Nigerians who stole points know he owns this website? Again, not smart. Do I have a Nigerian name? Fool!
As for threats from you: Clown. I have a blocked fake IP address. Dont you? Doesn’t everybody today? So you’d be chasing your tail. Plus I have done nothing wrong but predict your future.
You may have a "blocked IP address" (sure ya do), but you also have the exact same diction, paragraphing, spacing, and odd exclamations of at least 2 other personas who regularly post here.
TL;DR - you're only fooling yourself.
You are NieveFOOL. Why? A thief always thinks others are a thief. I have no need to be someone else, that’s what you do.
You are too literal. The responder threw you in with the Nigerians, he did not claim you were one. You may have missed that insult. As for your name being Nigerian, as Immortal says, which one of your accounts are you referring to? And I believe hiding behind a fake IP takes the sting out of how big a man you are compared to the ‘westerners’…very courageous indeed. I won’t even comment on the irony...
You are too literal. The responder threw you in with the Nigerians, he did not claim you were one. You may have missed that insult. As for your name being Nigerian, as Immortal says, which one of your accounts are you referring to? And I believe hiding behind a fake IP takes the sting out of how big a man you are compared to the ‘westerners’…very courageous indeed. I won’t even comment on the irony of person calling out a filthy degeneracy as they try to cash in on the tips and tricks of a miles and points website. Very strict Sharia law follower obviously. And yes, I am just baiting you because it brings a laugh to my day reading your nonsense. Yes I know, I’m a clown..or is it a fool? Do you pity me? Please do. The worst part of your comment is that you demean true believers of any faith, especially Sharia law since you mention it, by pretending to be one yet ignoring your own abusive language and Ill-gotten fruits of miles and points adventures. Shame on you.
Give the information to Qatar Airways and Alaska Airlines fraud department. Let them deal with it. The person who used your miles will just give you a BS answer at the very least or, they could unleash some unsuspecting beat down in the form of physical violence OR even hack your accounts and cause you massive inconvenience.
Ben,
I too had miles stolen from my Alaska account for a Qatar business ticket Montreal issued to a woman in Lagos, Nigeria.
I too tracked her down on social media, called Alaska to give her name and stated that these were stolen from my account.
Alaska reinstated the 170,000 miles to my account and I now have a PIN number to access the account , just like Ford
Although this...
Ben,
I too had miles stolen from my Alaska account for a Qatar business ticket Montreal issued to a woman in Lagos, Nigeria.
I too tracked her down on social media, called Alaska to give her name and stated that these were stolen from my account.
Alaska reinstated the 170,000 miles to my account and I now have a PIN number to access the account , just like Ford
Although this was caught two days before the actual flight and I would suspect that Alaska
nullified the ticket, I asked Alaska how they could issue a ticket under a different name and gender with my frequent flyer miles, but did not get a satisfactory answer. In fact, I didn't even get an official acknowledgement in the form of a letter or email, let alone an apology.
It's strange but I doubt companies go after these individual scammers, as it is too hard to prosecute, unless it's done on a Federal level. A lot of the identity theft stems from these criminal gangs in places like Nigeria and Russia.
Not sure why Alaska doesn't issue a new FF# and a pin# to your partner
Calling is a PITA
I dislike Alaska immensely since Covid where they never recovered fully IMO
Their IT is the worst I have ever seen.When I log in on rare occasions I see other peoples names and account numbers/account balances etc.
When I called in to report the serious IT issues they genuinely couldn't care less...
Not sure why Alaska doesn't issue a new FF# and a pin# to your partner
Calling is a PITA
I dislike Alaska immensely since Covid where they never recovered fully IMO
Their IT is the worst I have ever seen.When I log in on rare occasions I see other peoples names and account numbers/account balances etc.
When I called in to report the serious IT issues they genuinely couldn't care less @ at their customer care dept which should be renamed
"Alaska rarely listens or cares"
I took screen shots but never sent them in after the conversations
So much for account privacy.
Unfortunately Alaska is almost as bad as the criminals and they have lost my respect.I rarely do business with them now but I used to admire the company once upon a time and many of their team members as well as their previous once high value Int redemption's which have gone to the dogs.I can do way better in Flying Blue or American and not pay an absurd redemption booking fee as well
Let the proper authorities handle it. Getting involved could complicate a lawful investigation
Ben you are already 86'ed from Egypt we don't need you starting stuff with the Nigerians too!
Before doing any confronting I would want to make sure the hacking wasn't on a device on your side which is more likely than on Alaska's servers. You need to clean your devices before you attempt any contact. There could be other types of Trojans sitting around. Not a fun task. We're talking factory resetting your phone, formatting your hard drives and reinstalling OSes from scratch or get a new computer (but don't transfer anything...
Before doing any confronting I would want to make sure the hacking wasn't on a device on your side which is more likely than on Alaska's servers. You need to clean your devices before you attempt any contact. There could be other types of Trojans sitting around. Not a fun task. We're talking factory resetting your phone, formatting your hard drives and reinstalling OSes from scratch or get a new computer (but don't transfer anything other than personal media and documents, no executable files).
And set up alerts on your accounts on large withdrawals.
I would suggest that you reach out to the YouTube experts who scam scamners. Could be a good business opportunities for you both. Talk to guys like kitboga or pleasant green.
lol. what could go wrong?!?
An exercise in further futility. Certainly not worth AS's & QR's time in pursuing as they just price their loss in for the rest of us fools... Even more of a fool's errand to contact Nigerian 'authorities' given the corruption/ineptitude that is culturally endemic in that country...
Similar reason explaining why shoplifting ''pays" in California, for example.
Reading all these comments where majority says to do nothing is why cyber crimes are so profitable. It Does affect you. Costs trickles down. Crowd sourcing retaliation would work if people are willing to do some part. You don't need to confront anyone but it's our current climate to just expect someone else to rally the troops. That's not going to happen until something extreme happens to a fortune 500 tech company because the non...
Reading all these comments where majority says to do nothing is why cyber crimes are so profitable. It Does affect you. Costs trickles down. Crowd sourcing retaliation would work if people are willing to do some part. You don't need to confront anyone but it's our current climate to just expect someone else to rally the troops. That's not going to happen until something extreme happens to a fortune 500 tech company because the non tech companies have pitiful IT. I'm not expecting you all to do the kind of things I would like eStalk them and find their ip and physical address and maybe have a look in their PCs.
But I am a IT security professional and waaaaay too many non tech minded folks are completely laxed in security. I'm not going to rant about passwords not being "123" or other common sense things like that. But you should get involved in helping to track. I'll give you an example. I was part of a social network group that just sort of formed on the fly after a guy posted his phone was stolen. The owner was technical so he had his own remote log in in place on his phone. He monitored for weeks and eventually filmed a video of the thief in another city walking around. The trick to do that was provided from another user. This was more than 10 years ago when it was easier to remotely put camera tasks on your device. He shared the video with the group. We geo located the town all because someone in the group knew the church the thief walked pass, eventually where the thief lived based on just the buildings he passed by. We knew his movement schedule, when he slept and if he was a snorer. When the owner finally recorded the thief talking about stealing the phone the group had already figured out the thiefs identity. The cops were called and the owner LIVE STEAMED the arrest for the group. I'm summarizing because this all unfolded over several months and the police were consulted. So yes you can do something by just being willing and not just let the police handle it.
Curiosity killed the cat. Don’t risk it. IME Nigerian criminals cannot be trusted. It could risk her safety as well.
At the end of last year, 230,000 miles of my friend's Japan Airlines account were fraudulently used, and business class tickets for two people from JFK to HND were issued under a Chinese person's name.
Several similar cases have been reported in Japan.
Alaska lost the money. Let them handle it. Give them what you know.
Alaska lost the money. Let them handle it. Give them what you know.
Notify the airline of their identity. Let them take action on your behalf!
Tell the mileage team and let them handle. If she was involved, or knows who was, what other info did they grab from his profile? DOB, birthday, address, etc?
I told United a few years ago someone used my credit card to buy an airline ticket and they should send someone to the flight and arrest them and was told it’s cheaper to let them fly than pay to arrest them
I worked as head of fraud for a decade for an OTA. The person buying this knows 100% that she is buying a ticket illegally. It’s part of a network and the buyers realize those seats were bought with either other people’s credit cards or stolen miles. Confront, they’re scum, and don’t expect any contrition
Maybe take a page from this This American Life episode…. (It’s hilarious, fwiw…) https://www.thisamericanlife.org/363/enforcers/act-one
Team up with Search Engine podcast to investigate! This seems right up their alley for the sort of investigative work they do. The host's previous podcast did a great episode going to India to meet a scammer who had happened to call him.
Report them to police
I would report it to the authorities. I filed a identity theft to local police . They tracked it down to empty house etc.
What you "permit you promote "
Report it
Why didn't you just cancel the flights since they were in your account?
If you were going to do it you would have already done it
I believe that it has been suggested that this is simply a click-bate article.
Ultimately that requires the Nigerian authorities to investigate and intervene. Since Nigeria is one of the most corrupt countries on the planet, it’s likely that this gang pays for police protection at a high level. The points were reinstated, so Ben should move on.
It's probably law enforcement that directly perpetrated the fraud anyways !
Organised criminal syndicates with international reach are best not provoked. Leave it to the professionals.
Whey-hey! How is this comment still up? Reporting.
IF my understanding is correct, it is puzzling but yet socially accepted etiquette that certain race of people are able to use the n-word among their group.
So with out knowing who @Fred is, you can't politically correct him on snowflake on him.
So much for equality.
That's probably why DEI failed unless either everybody or nobody can freely use the N-word.
Eskimo, you say some stupid sh!t regularly, and it's pretty comically taken at times... but even you can't be THIS dimwitted.
Nothing to gain
Knowing the identity was your gain
The Prince of Nigeria moving on to asking for miles these days!
Not asking, taking!
Visit the Interpol Nigerian financial crimes gang activity. Cybercrime stealing .5 billion a year from US companies.
Ben, Perhaps it would be worth handing this over to an investigative journalist. I’m sure someone at The Guardian, The Times, Business Insider, or Vox would be very interested in conducting a deep dive into this matter. I would also be willing to share my experience to support any investigation.
This happened to me. Two different individuals redeemed my Alaska miles on two American Airlines flights totaling 59,000 miles. I googled their names and found their FB profiles (also seemingly Nigerian?) and was tempted to confront them as well. Seems like there is some loophole that folks have found with redeeming partner awards? I now have to call Alaska to unlock my account each time I want to redeem a flight with miles.
I'm pretty sure AS is already investigating the crime or might have even reported to the authority. Like you, I also have an inkling that she's the victim as well which means she's out thousands of dollars for buying stolen award tickets. I agree with the others that if you want to confront them, do it anonymously.
Life is too short to be spending time on the pursuit of an irrelevant persons perspective and why they took advantage of a basic mileage deal that made sense to them.
I suggest you refocus the thought on how you might spend the same time to make a positive impact somewhere else.
just do it
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
The Nigerian may be a victim, not the crook.
Do NOT contact this person. You may keep tabs on them, however. Be aware if you look at their Instagram a lot, they will eventually know it as Instagram suggests you to them.
At some point, you may lose inhibitions and contact that person. If so, do not let them know you are Lucky.
As a side note, you wrote that you are introverted so are...
The Nigerian may be a victim, not the crook.
Do NOT contact this person. You may keep tabs on them, however. Be aware if you look at their Instagram a lot, they will eventually know it as Instagram suggests you to them.
At some point, you may lose inhibitions and contact that person. If so, do not let them know you are Lucky.
As a side note, you wrote that you are introverted so are prone to investigate. WRONG. Extroverts do the same, too. Look at heads of state that spy on people. They are often extroverted.
I am unlikely to be popular for what I am about to post now, however, I do believe that the situation warrants a further comment.
I am suspicious of the motives for publicising this matter. As the characters in question are on the one side easily identified public figures, while on the other side they are clearly highly organised criminals of unknown capabilities. Anyone who tries to say otherwise is being totally unrealistic.
...
I am unlikely to be popular for what I am about to post now, however, I do believe that the situation warrants a further comment.
I am suspicious of the motives for publicising this matter. As the characters in question are on the one side easily identified public figures, while on the other side they are clearly highly organised criminals of unknown capabilities. Anyone who tries to say otherwise is being totally unrealistic.
The bottom line is that the losers from the criminal activities are points issuing organisation and not the individual who was targeted. It is now incumbent upon the points organisation to take on the criminals, not the targets.
The targets would be best advised to stop seeking publicity and dangerous comments from all in-sundry, thereafter, remove the subject article from this very public website.
As others have said, the person whose name was on the ticket doesn't have to be a criminal of any sort - indeed, they may well be an 'easily identified public figure' , as anyone who's got a few thousand followers on Instagram might be considered to be one.
Having said that, I also agree that there's no benefit in any amateur investigation into this, unless the case is referred to a seasoned scam baiter who's familiar with those ecosystems.
Please confront them in a Social Media Post! Most criminals of this nature hate confrontation. Notice them that you have located them, and you are making contact with local authorities. Their behaviour is no longer concealed. You will make it your mission to have them placed on a "No Fly List"
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
Seems like there are at least two legitimate options here. First one is that you, as an aviation blogger, have an opportunity to conduct investigative journalism in your field of expertise. If so inclined, it would be totally within the scope of your profession to directly approach the woman who utilized these points to ascertain how she obtained the points and then proceed from there.
On the other hand, your husband - and Alaska/Qatar...
Seems like there are at least two legitimate options here. First one is that you, as an aviation blogger, have an opportunity to conduct investigative journalism in your field of expertise. If so inclined, it would be totally within the scope of your profession to directly approach the woman who utilized these points to ascertain how she obtained the points and then proceed from there.
On the other hand, your husband - and Alaska/Qatar Airlines - were the victim of fraud. You can refer this information to these airlines and law enforcement for their further handling. Either seems like reasonable ways to handle this.
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
Do not be stupid and turn yourself into an even bigger target. Leave it to the airlines and authorities to sort out. If I were you I would make sure all of your accounts are secure. Being so into credit cards to earn points and having a website that shows the how’s and where’s of what you do, you are probably a very appealing target. Use your investigative skills to look for gaps in your security. Once you do this, maybe help those who follow you with tips.
The commenters who believe these cowardly Nigerian hackers have any power for further retribution are just ignorant and scared.
Don’t join the silent majority who do nothing and let nefarious contrivances rule. Go down that hole and expose as much as you can.
Your getting a lot of advice from the cowardly silent majority. Man up.
It is the anonymous numpties like you Fat-hiss, who, if listened to, could cause more heartache and pain than necessary.
Spoken like a true coward. Say nothing and give them impunity. This crap only stops when people stand up,
Now, go back to your chicken coop with the other million.
Fat-hiss, you are such a typical keyboard warrior, first one to call others cowardly yet the first to wet their pants and run at the first sign of danger. Thank you for complying to the stereotypical dumbo.
Man up? That could mean to get some thugs and Lucky, himself, going to Nigeria with guns. Yeah, some people have done that and tried to overthrow African governments. Want to try that? Lucky could name himself Vice President and Minister of Miles and Upgrades.
Derek, what a total idiot. Who’s talking guns? Exposing has nothing to do with gun violence. Another cowardly idiot. Go join-the millions. Let the Nigerians go unchecked.
Your ignorance of worldly matters evident Fat-hiss …. thank you for giving us the opportunity to laugh at your stupidity.
What are the Nigerian laws on theft? I know some predominantly Muslim countries handle this stuff a very different way than we do.
I suggest reporting it to the FBI at ic3.gov. This is a legit way to report and have the fbi folks based in Nigeria have the info. I’ve worked with them before and this may help them build on an existing case or spot trends for a new case. This is the best way to combat the problem for everyone. Nigeria is a focus country for the internet crimes team.
"OUR" miles?
Aren't these your husband's miles? What does he want to do about his account?
This is like any other investigative reporting, you know the risks should you choose to accept it.
On the up side, this piece could land you the Pulitzer prize, the exact opposite of Gary or Matthew's abs or the brain of that blogger who defended ending the companion discount in the name of fake transparency.
You have more to lose than she does...
Other than scratching some personal fetish itch of yours? There's no upside, but there's plenty of downside given your brand and web presence.
Depends on what the laws are regarding theft on a predominantly Muslim country such as Nigeria.
Do it, What could possibly go wrong?
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
@Aero- You are commenting on everyone’s post. You are a coward! Probably a “white dude for Kamala” type. Am I wrong?
Brian, thank you for this opportunity to respond to your extremely poor assessment of my moral integrity. Calling someone a coward from the safety of your anonymity is in itself an extremely cowardly act. I am confident that were we ever to meet then you would be most reluctant to call me a coward to my face.
For over three decades I was involved in every major British military operation, my military service record...
Brian, thank you for this opportunity to respond to your extremely poor assessment of my moral integrity. Calling someone a coward from the safety of your anonymity is in itself an extremely cowardly act. I am confident that were we ever to meet then you would be most reluctant to call me a coward to my face.
For over three decades I was involved in every major British military operation, my military service record was exemplary. I was honoured to be recognised by HM Queen Elizabeth ll, not for cowardice, but for something you probably know absolutely nothing about old bean …. Gallantry.
Level 2A & 3A Decorations.
Level 3B Medals.
Level 4 Commendations.
Finally, more Military Campaign Medals than you could shake a stick at.
That said it will be seen, by your response or lack of it, exactly which way your moral compass points.
If you are telling the truth then I will open wide and eat crow. Thank you for your service. I look at Ben as an Independent journalist and felt he should look into it.
Probably has nothing to do with the traveler. A similar thing happened to me — it involved a Chinese-American businessman. I reached out to him on social media, and he replied saying he had purchased the ticket through an agency and even provided the agency’s information. He was apologetic and confused. This kind of situation is quite common. It’s very unlikely that the traveler would risk criminal prosecution; these agencies operate under the assumption that...
Probably has nothing to do with the traveler. A similar thing happened to me — it involved a Chinese-American businessman. I reached out to him on social media, and he replied saying he had purchased the ticket through an agency and even provided the agency’s information. He was apologetic and confused. This kind of situation is quite common. It’s very unlikely that the traveler would risk criminal prosecution; these agencies operate under the assumption that the traveler will never find out. The company may not even be based in Lagos, even if that’s where the traveler was headed.
Nice deniability. People purchasing from shady sources often know exactly what they’re doing.
Deniability? I am just posting an experience, it’s not a bad thing to message the person as they may not know and they’ll be fully aware not to purchase from that entity again and it may give interesting insight, but it obviously does come with some risk.
I think he meant the Chinese man you spoke to is denying accountability, not you.
Put it out in the public. Speak to the airlines as well.
As Edmund Burke allegedly said: "When good men do nothing, evil is left to prosper."
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
Had someone steal my credit card number and booked a very expensive (and refundable) biz class ticket from Italy to Argentina. Amex fraud actually refused to approve the fraud claim (different story but no longer have any Amex cards after that…). But I was able to get the confirmation code and last name of the individual. I waited until the day before the flight and fully cancelled and refunded the ticket back to my card. Hope that ruined some of their plans :)
We’d be interested in hearing how the hack happened so that we can avoid any mistakes and protect our accounts.
I sincerely doubt that she'd react with anything other than lashing out. The kind of person that would buy shady black market tickets then flex them on social media doesn't sound like someone that would take even the hint of a question about her "lifestyle" well, especially in a country like Nigeria where corruption, coercion, and saving face are so deeply part of the culture.
That said, if you're not afraid of whatever backlash might...
I sincerely doubt that she'd react with anything other than lashing out. The kind of person that would buy shady black market tickets then flex them on social media doesn't sound like someone that would take even the hint of a question about her "lifestyle" well, especially in a country like Nigeria where corruption, coercion, and saving face are so deeply part of the culture.
That said, if you're not afraid of whatever backlash might come your way she absolutely sounds like someone who could be taken down a peg or two. Or maybe I'll be (pleasantly this time) wrong.
Connor, the user is not the person to fear here …. it is the organisation behind the theft Ben should be concerned about.
Yeah, I'm not entirely sure how much access they would actually have to Ben or any of his loved ones, but that's definitely a consideration as well. Especially if she's (as likely) well-connected with whatever organization is behind it.
If their residential address is linked on their Alaska account, messing with Nigerian criminals qualifies as a Very Bad Idea.
Ben, if you won’t listen to me then listen to Sean M, below.
If you value your sanity and safety do absolutely nothing! Peruse this debacle and it could bring you more grief than you can cope with …. after all, you have published your awareness of the situation and have just potentially placed a large target on your back …. not a sensible move Ben.
Take down this article if you value your family life, etc.
Good god! People who live in shells ….. smh…..
Qatar Airlines has their name and birthdate and know that they either stole the miles or profited from the stolen miles. Qatar Airlines should ban the traveler from future flights.
Certainly not. Upside?
Downside could vary depending on how organized the criminals are. It's very likely there's way more to this than meets the eye, with stakeholders beyond your imagination. Listen to Scam Inc to give you a guess. You got your points back, move on.
You need to create an elaborate network of fake social media accounts, at least 15, and spin a web of deception and intrigue. Then sell your story to Netflix
And buy his own A380?
Go for it....
I had a similar thing happen with Alaska a few months ago and have the same PIN/call/unlock thing. Which is only annoying when you're trying to get a mileage ticket in a hurry on a weekend when another airline has gone IROP... I had to resort to flying Southwest cross country this weekend.
Don't get involved with Nigerian organised crime groups.
That's all I have to say.
She should not only be confronted, she should be reported to authorities in Doha, and in Nigeria. Something telss me that authorities in Doha will not be lenient on accomplices like this.
My hunch is that she very well knows how these tickets are trafficked and she benefits from it. She is as much guilty as anyone who stole them. While you spent hours on the phone sorting the situation, while Alaska was spending...
She should not only be confronted, she should be reported to authorities in Doha, and in Nigeria. Something telss me that authorities in Doha will not be lenient on accomplices like this.
My hunch is that she very well knows how these tickets are trafficked and she benefits from it. She is as much guilty as anyone who stole them. While you spent hours on the phone sorting the situation, while Alaska was spending money paying IT agents to sort the mess, she was enjoying the high life in Doha on stolen goods. The hotels in Doha are likely puchased similarly.
When fraud is rampant, everyone is paying for it. She needs to pay to.
Extremely Bad Advice! …. To report the incident to a foreign agency only exposes one’s personal identity which could fall into the hands of the Nigerian organised criminal gangs.
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
I would publish the names of the people you used the ticket for all their information. They likely knew this were stolen tickets.
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
Absolutely not. No way in hell would I confront these individuals yourself. I would inform Alaska and Qatar, turning over all information from the account as well as anything you have found on your own. Maybe file a police report if applicable (I am not an attorney) and continue to move on with life. Ben, you got way too much to lose and little to nothing to gain from confronting these people. There is no fruit in this for you or your family. My $.02
I would not go anywhere near Nigerians from my own experience.They are liars,thiefs and the worst criminals who are probably gang affiliated.Best left well alone in my experience
I would first report your findings to the airlines (both Alaska and Qatar). Confronting this person, if you want to do it, is probably a good idea. I don’t see any potential risk of doing so. I would, however, do this in public and have Alaska and Qatar be aware of this. I would also let your readers know, in detail how this went so that all victims of something like this can suffer the consequences of their actions.
I would assume that Alaska knows since it returned the miles. If it were important enough, Alaska should work with Qatar.
When you get your milage returned, it would seem that your involvement is over.
Possibly contact one of the people who operate youtube channels who spend all of their time trying to hack the hackers, like the guy who backdoored one of the indian call center scam sites and get them to do it.
Theyd be more experienced and know what theyre doing, and would likely offer a layer of protection.
I second @frrp's advice. You never know who might be on the other side of the screen, @Ben.
Yes, this. Let them confront them so that you don't end up with someone who may come after you. This guy is pretty good for stuff like this: https://www.youtube.com/c/PleasantGreen
Currently, you are a faceless forgotten victim of a failed fraud to them. They don't remember you, they don't know you.
You can contact them, and become someone who "stole" their reward trip, someone who has a high online profile, someone informing others to beware of them, and someone with a lot to lose. A big target
Seems like a plan...
I'd put everything out in public but I wouldn't expect much on the criminal investigation side.
Extremely Bad Advice! ….
However, like this post it helps a click-bate tally if that is the purpose of the article.
I am more interested to know if the airlines take any action on those tickets purchased via hacked accounts or stolen credit card. The airlines have those passengers full detail but do they take any action? Like you, my AA account was hacked and I got the email from AA immediately of the passenger's name on that redemption! Granded, cross country law might be hard to enforce but shouldn't those passengers be warned and ultimately...
I am more interested to know if the airlines take any action on those tickets purchased via hacked accounts or stolen credit card. The airlines have those passengers full detail but do they take any action? Like you, my AA account was hacked and I got the email from AA immediately of the passenger's name on that redemption! Granded, cross country law might be hard to enforce but shouldn't those passengers be warned and ultimately blacklisted for violating their rules?
"Or do I create a fake account, complement her jet set lifestyle, and ask if she has any tips for getting deals on business class flights?"
Ben, you gotta slide into her DMs and flirt with her a bit. I know your gay, but I'm sure you have the skills to pull it off. Charm her (maybe have Ford help you out with this), and promise her flights around the world in premium cabins. You know she likes that! Get her to meet up with you in Lagos, and bam!
I assume you are being sarcastic. Never, ever, meet in person with her or anyone associated with her for personal safety.
@DavidW - Yes, my comment was a joke. I don't think Ben should escalate this further.
Absolutely! Yes, please make a public post indicating that she may not be aware but that she traveled to Doha on stolen miles. People should realize that there are consequences (including public shaming) when you undertake illegal acts. Even she herself was not in on the fraud, she should at least be award of it so that she is not unknowingly supporting criminal activity.
The truth about black market criminals is they very well could be dangerous. Right now you have little knowledge regarding the extent of the operation. You don't know how far they might go to protect it. Yes it sounds like a delicious revenge but figure out how to stay anonymous.
I agree with you. It would feel great to confront but since AS has already made it right, it doesn't seem useful to poke what you don't know...
Please do not underestimate these thugs. It's a huge racket, and they can go even further to avenge themselves. The airline company's legal department should be the one to take this matter more seriously. Just reinstating the miles is not enough. They have to pursue it through their legal channels and take them to task—it might be easier said than done, but you shouldn't get into this.
Please calm down. We're talking people who can't get basic plumbing right. I think our boy will be just fine.
To what end? What do you expect to accomplish?
That is, these people don't care and will continue to do what they're doing. It's like complaining to Marriott's CEO about program devaluations.
"Or do I create a fake account, complement her jet set lifestyle..."
Do you mean "compliment?"
@ TravelinWilly -- Indeed! Fixed, thanks.
Have you thought about running your drafts through ChatGPT to clean up and refine? It would catch these things.
I’m sure these AI engines are reading your content anyways because it’s not behind a paywall.
Meh, I wouldn't mess with it. Unless you want her and her network doing the same digging on you.
In other news, maybe finding the mofos who are using fake bookings to snag ANA first class seats with miles might be better lol.
What if she reads this blog ? It would have bene wise to take action and post the results after.
Regrettably she will deny everything and the accuse you of slander.
To me, someone who knowingly bought a fraudulent ticket is an accomplice. This type of criminals can't accomplish what they do without those accomplices.
It would be really interesting if she was willing to tell you about it. Though while I suspect you are right that she isn’t the actual thief but someone who purchased from a thief my guess is the reaction would not be good. Of course what could she do about it? My fear would be what if she is the hacker or knows the hacker could she do something adverse to you or your husband? I definitely will read that follow up if you do it though!
I'd make contact via your new fake account, then ask for tips. If she proves to be a scammer herself (and not someone who unknowingly bought the tickets off a crook), then show her the evidence.
If you can be bothered.....personally I can't see what you'll actually gain here. She'll just block you and carry on regardless.
I suggest* you delete this article and then reach out to her for an interview, and then confront her.
* suggest may be the wrong word. Perhaps “would find it entertaining if…”
Traveler, thief, criminal.