Airlines are being impersonated on social media by fake scammers attempting to steal personal data from holidaygoers, new research from Which? revealed.
Every major airline has a scam X/Twitter account impersonating them, regularly tricking customers with phishing links in a bid to steal credit card details.
Which?, the consumer protection group, said X had been slow to remove the fake accounts from its platform.
X said it permanently suspends accounts which impersonate organisations and told Which? it had taken down all the fake accounts found in its research.
Fake accounts typically reply to queries or complaints posted by users on social media, with the scammers replying as if they were customer support.
Researchers said they had tried to contact Wizz Air's X account to see if a flight was delayed and immediately recieved responses from two fake accounts.
"Both used near-identical language, apologising for the inconvenience, stating that they had ‘already escalated this matter to the relevant department’ and requesting a ‘reachable WhatsApp number for assistance’ via DM [direct message],” Which? said.