European policing watchdog Europol has arrested 79 people suspected of using stolen or fake credit card data to buy flight tickets online.

It was a large operation that was carried out for five days from 18 to 22 November across 200 airports worldwide.

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The international law enforcement operation was launched after 165 suspicious transactions were reported.

During the 12th edition of the Global Airline Action Days (GAAD), almost 60 countries, 56 airlines and 12 online travel agencies participated to fight fraudulent online purchases of airline tickets.

Card-not-present fraud cases have adversely financially affected the airline industry. Statistics have revealed that the airline industry is forced to bear $1bn in losses per annum due to the fraudulent online purchases of flight tickets.

Card-not-present (CNP) fraud is an attempt to make a fraudulent card purchase in the absence of a physical card. It typically occurs over the phone or online.

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Europol deputy executive director of operations Wil van Gemert said: “Airline ticket fraud is borderless by nature.

“This operation was the culmination of many months of meticulous planning between Europol, law enforcement, judiciary, and border agencies, airlines, and credit card companies, and is a perfect example of how our combined forces can make a distinctive contribution in the fight against these criminal syndicates operating across borders.”