Tech & Biz

Fraud Probe at Canadian Airport Kiosks

by jordan | July 24, 2008 at 08:54 am

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Credit cards are part of the foundation of our ID, but are also quite prone to theft or misappropriation. Case in point: As Visa investigates a series of fraud reports stemming from airport kiosk usage, Westjet is removing credit-card checkin at its automated outposts. Passengers can instead use the remaining options to print their boarding cards: passport or reservation number.

I'm wondering, though, if it's only the credit-card element of the kiosk security that has been broken: what if passport info could also be co-opted? That's a bit harder to track, as it's not generally used daily.

An investigation into a suspected security breach at Toronto airport self-service kiosks has caused at least one airline to suspend the use of credit card information as a check-in option.

While no one is saying exactly what pattern sparked the probe, Visa purchases are monitored by some of the world's most sophisticated algorithmic tools, called "neural networks," that watch for and flag irregular spending behaviour.

Visa's investigation began after the financial community came to suspect, in recent months, that certain isolated patterns of fraud appeared to be linked to the use of credit cards in conjunction with air travel through Toronto.

The GTAA allowed Visa to look into its retailers and parking systems, which were originally considered to be possible sources of the problem. But they were deemed to be secure.

I prefer printing my boarding passes remotely if possible; failing that, I check in with my reservation number. It's been over a year, though, since I've flown with any carrier other than Air Canada or Westjet, so your mileage may vary.

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