Fraud strikes SA Agents yet again…

ASATA agencies are being cautioned to be extra vigilant as a new form of fraud rears its head; this time masquerading as travel requests from fraudsters posing as employees of agencies’ legitimate corporate customers.

In the particular cases ASATA has been privy to: agencies have been contacted by legitimate representatives of their corporate customers unknowingly on behalf of fraudsters posing as an employee of the company’s overseas branch, or by actual fraudsters who pose as an employee of a legitimate corporate customer requiring travel arrangements.

The concern is that these fraudsters in both cases appear to know which travel agency services that corporate’s travel account.

The email addresses used do not raise suspicion as they are similar to that of the corporates’ email and travel requests are predominantly last-minute and urgent, for short periods of time and made for individuals with ‘strange’ surnames.

ASATA members are reminded to remain vigilant and if any irregularities are obvious to double check with the actual business that supposedly sent the email to verify that it is in fact genuine.

Please also note that ASATA will be creating a useful Infographic and Quick Guide detailing common fraudulent activities and the process to follow when an agency has been defrauded in the coming weeks.

Should you have any examples, comments or feedback you would like to see included, please do not hesitate to contact us: Natalia@bigambitions.co.za