DALLAS (AP) – Thieves with stolen usernames and passwords have broken into customer accounts at American and United airlines and in some cases booked free trips or upgrades.
The airlines say the incidents happened in late December. American began notifying affected customers by email on Monday, a spokeswoman said.
Some travel websites are fighting this type of fraud by adding steps to the login process, and they warn against using the same username and password on more than one site.
United Airlines spokesman Luke Punzenberger said thieves booked trips or made mileage transactions on up to three dozen accounts. United notified customers in late December, and Punzenberger said the airline would restore miles to anyone who had them stolen.
American Airlines spokeswoman Martha Thomas said that about 10,000 accounts were affected and some have been frozen while the airline and customer set up new accounts, starting with customers who have at least 100,000 miles. She said the airline has learned of two cases in which somebody booked a free trip or upgrade without the account holder’s knowledge.