NEW YORK—There's a black market for frequent flyer miles. Stolen frequent flyer accounts and rewards points are a hot commodity on the Dark Net, a new report shows.
Stolen airline miles aren't usually spent on actual airfare or hotel bookings—purchases that require proof of ID. But many reward programs allow account holders to redeem points at local retailers, often through gift cards, Comparitech said.
Members aren't required to enter a password or PIN number when spending points, and retail staff often don't ask for an ID. Due to the lack of verification, frequent flyer miles have become a profitable target for hackers and thieves.
As CUToday.info has previously reported, rewards points are becoming attractive targets for crooks since consumers don’t frequently check their rewards balances and therefore the theft can go unnoticed for long periods.