AI-powered travel scams: what to know

The growing threat of AI-powered travel scams targeting business travelers is real. These scams leverage advanced technologies like deepfakes, voice and video manipulation, and fake websites to exploit travelers during stressful or urgent situations, such as flight cancellations or delays. Scammers impersonate trusted figures—like customer service agents or executives—to trigger psychological responses like urgency and fear, prompting victims to act quickly without verifying authenticity. 

Corporate travel managers play a crucial role in educating travelers about these risks and reinforcing protocols, such as using approved booking tools (like GetGoing) and recognizing red flags like unusual payment requests or unfamiliar communication platforms. This article will emphasize the need for ongoing training and vigilance to combat this evolving threat landscape. 

AI scam vocabulary

Before we get started with the risks and some measures to instate in order to prevent scams, let’s take a look at some terminology.

Deepfake

Deepfake combines the terms “deep learning” and “fake”.” It is used to describe voice, image and video manipulation made with algorithms with artificial intelligence to create false content. This could be swapping a person’s face and copying it onto another person’s body or synchronizing lips to an audio track. 

Psychological triggers

Psychological triggers are a way scammers play into urgency, fear and authority to get targets to do what they want them to do. These attacks take advantage of urgent travel scnearios, like flight changes or booking confirmations to trick recipients to share sensitive information when they are in a vulnerable state.

Types of AI powered scams

With Artificial Intelligence, it becomes easier and easier to get a hold of data, impersonate travel providers or suppliers, and to do so in such a way that is sophisticated, personalized, and hard to detect, putting business travelers at risk, and making it so that businesses run the risk of not living up to their duty of care.

Deepfakes

Criminals use AI voice cloning to impersonate legitimate travel agents. They can take voice samples from promotional videos or customer service recordings to create convincing replicas of real agents’ voices. They then call unsuspecting travelers, posing as representatives from trusted travel companies, and offer “exclusive” deals or urgent booking assistance. 

These calls often sound authentic, complete with industry jargon and emotional nuance, making it difficult for victims to detect the fraud. Victims are pressured to make immediate payments via untraceable methods like wire transfers or cryptocurrency, believing they’re speaking to a real agent. 

Phishing 

Scammers can use Artificial Intelligence to write emails that mimic legitimate booking confirmations or cancellation notices from trusted travel brands. These emails often include accurate logos, formatting, and writing styles, making them hard to distinguish from real ones. They contain malicious links or attachments designed to steal login credentials or install malware. 

Target business travelers during vulnerable moments 

Scammers can manipulate travelers through psychological triggers like urgency and authority in vulnerable moments like before catching a flight, before an upcoming business trip or a big event.

Why business travelers are vulnerable

Travelers are especially at risk when they bypass corporate booking tools or travel management companies and choose to book directly with suppliers—many of whom may be impersonated through fake websites designed to look like legitimate businesses.

7 Actionable steps for travel managers to help prevent fraud and live up to their duty of care

Education is key to prevent fraud, and with AI-powered travel scams being more realistic than ever, it’s important travel managers and those in charge of travel can take some actionable steps.

1. Review your travel program structure

It’s important to review your travel program structure to ensure clear integration between your travel management platform and all the vendors. Ideally you should work with a travel management platform with standardized booking procedures and communication channels.

2. Educate travelers on red flags

Train employees to recognize inconsistencies or deviations from normal booking processes. Reinforce that any unexpected change is a potential warning sign.

3. Maintain and share an approved contact list

Provide travelers with a verified list of contacts for travel support and make it accessible via company apps, your automated travel policies, or physical wallet cards.

4. Implement regular training

Schedule ongoing training sessions to help travelers identify and verify legitimate requests, and be sure to include examples of scams and how to respond safely and smartly.

5. Encourage immediate reporting

Advise travelers to stop and report any suspicious activity to travel managers or IT, emphasizing the importance of not proceeding with any action prompted by suspicious messages or calls.

6. Watch for unusual payment requests

Flag any requests to transfer money outside of standard corporate credit card procedures. Be sure to educate travelers, and know that legitimate bookings should never require alternative payment methods.

7 . Verify requests for sensitive information

Remind travelers that TMCs and your travel management platform already have payment details inputted and won’t ask for them again. You also want to be cautious of calls requesting to switch to unfamiliar platforms or communication tools.