SHARON Stander,
owner of Bangy Travel,
recently had to pay
out R790 000 when an ITC
that issued through her Iata
number processed 40 tickets
using 10 cloned credit cards.
The incident has left Sharon
determined to take industry
issues into her own hands
as the self-proclaimed ‘travel
sheriff’ vowing to implement
industry controls that reduce
the risk of agents being held
responsible for fraudulent
transactions.
Sharon received a referral
in November to take on a
Hyde Park-based ITC which
needed a new issuing agent.
At the time, the two owners
of the ITC agency signed a
legal contract that stated
that they were responsible
for payment within 24 hours
of any ADMs issued to Bangy
Travel relating to tickets
issued for their ITC.
For the first month things
ran smoothly, with the ITC
issuing mostly domestic
tickets. However from
December 14-23 there was a
ticketing spike, conveniently
occurring while Sharon was
on holiday
She had left a senior
consultant at the office in
charge of issuance.
Sharon first became
suspicious when the ITC
called her office on the
afternoon of December 23
asking her to make a
number of last-minute
Ethiopian Airlines bookings
through her GDS system
as she had been cut off
from fare viewing by the
airline. It seemed odd that
a corporate would want to
book so many last-minute
tickets during the festive
season. Sharon then drew
a report and saw the spike
in the ITC’s issuance and
noticed that most of the 40
tickets had been booked full
economy class originating
in West Africa. Only three
of the tickets touched down
in South Africa. Sharon
then suggested that the ITC
should issue the tickets on
Ethiopian Airlines’ website,
at which point the client
stopped transacting through
the ITC.
Sharon later discovered
that all 40 of the tickets had
been issued through cloned
cards. The ITC had copies
of passports, front and back
of card and signed credit
card authorisation forms but
no CCCF documentation.
As a result, the ADMs were
undisputable and Sharon
had to borrow R790 000
from her husband In order
to keep her Iata licence
in operation. Sharon has
opened a case of fraud
against the ITC, which
has not reimbursed her
for her loss. She is also
pursuing a civil case for
reimbursemen.
