Pune: Travel company's data breach leads to sale of 150 airline tickets worth 62 lakhs

In a shocking incident, an unidentified individual stole the prepaid account information of a private airline and illicitly sold 150 flight tickets, amounting to a total value of Rs 62 lakh. This fraudulent act resulted in significant financial losses for two reputable travel agencies in Pune, which have a multi-crore travel business. A case has been registered against the unidentified perpetrator at the cyber police station.

As per the police statement, the travel company operates offices in the Mundhwa and Rasta Peth areas of Pune. The travel agency has established a prepaid account within the airline's system to facilitate financial transactions with three distinct private airlines. Using this designated account, the travel agent issues advance tickets to passengers. To do so, a certain amount of funds from the travel company are transferred to the respective private airlines as advance payment for the bookings.

In April, an unknown individual obtained account information from various travel companies associated with the concerned airline. Exploiting this information, the person deceitfully issued a total of 150 tickets online, including 148 tickets for domestic flights and two tickets for international flights. The discovery of this fraudulent activity occurred towards the end of April when the travel company conducted a thorough review of their accounts. During an internal investigation conducted by the travel company, it became evident that the tickets were booked by an unfamiliar individual rather than by the company itself. Promptly, the travel company reported the incident to the cyber police, and a complaint was filed at the cyber police station. The subsequent police investigation uncovered that the tickets had been booked using various internet connections.