Visa Says Airline Fraud Is Falling In The EU, So Why Are Losses Still Rising?

European airline fraud losses reached $77.7 million in the year ending March 2025, according to VisaNet MIS Fraud Insights. The same study shows overall fraud rates went down by 2.9% to single digit levels. Sales across Europe’s airline sector went up 11.8% year on year, which increases transaction volumes and creates more openings for criminals.

The detail in Visa’s whitepaper shows that 99% of airline fraud now takes place in ecommerce. Card not present ticketing dominates the threat, with $77.07 million linked to online transactions compared with $0.72 million in card present activity over the same period. Fraudsters obtain card details through social engineering, data breaches or dark web marketplaces.

Visa’s research explains that fraud today is more cross border, more concentrated and more targeted. International sales account for around 65% of total fraud losses. In Europe, 47% of airline sales are cross border, and three quarters of cross border fraud involves an issuer outside Europe. That then places pressure on airlines that sell across multiple regions.

Where Are The High Risk Corridors?

Visa’s corridor analysis shows that inter regional transactions account for 75% of airline cross border fraud share, with a blended fraud rate of 15.1 basis points. Intra European cross border transactions make up 25% of fraud share, with a fraud rate of 2.3 basis points.

The Americas account for 64% of total fraud share, making the region a high risk source of fraudulent transactions. North America alone contributes 51% of fraud share, with a fraud rate of 20 basis points for US cardholders and 16.9 basis points for Canadian cardholders. Latin America accounts for 13% of fraud share and a fraud rate of 23.7 basis points.

Asia Pacific represents 8% of fraud share with a fraud rate of 8.2 basis points, and CEMEA contributes 4% with a fraud rate of 4.9 basis points. Visa says that three quarters of cross border fraud involves an issuer from outside Europe, which shows how a small number of corridors generate a large proportion of losses.

The whitepaper notes that a fraud rate of five basis points equates to $5 of fraud out of every $10,000 in payment volume. That calculation helps airlines quantify exposure across different regions and adjust controls to match the level of risk.

How Are Fraudsters Operating?

Visa mentioned a range of tactics used against airlines. Triangulation fraud is one of the most damaging. Criminals set up fake travel sites advertising cheap fares. A customer buys a ticket and pays the fraudster, who then uses stolen card details to purchase a genuine ticket from the airline. The traveller flies, but the airline faces a chargeback.

Account takeover also features heavily. Fraudsters use credential stuffing, brute force attacks and exploitation of dormant accounts to access customer profiles. They cancel bookings for vouchers or alter account details to extract value.

Synthetic identities and mule accounts are another threat. Criminals mix real and false identity information to open accounts and abuse buy now pay later schemes or instalment offers. Friendly fraud, where a customer disputes a legitimate transaction after travelling, leaves airlines out of pocket even if the booking was valid.

What Can Airlines Do Without Harming Customer Experience?

Visa’s whitepaper says airlines must rethink fraud prevention at both intra regional and inter regional levels. Controls must protect revenue and avoid adding unnecessary friction at checkout.

Cora Constantin, Europe Tech and Risk Advisory at Visa, writes in the foreword, “Every transaction, every booking, and every journey depends on the assurance that payments are secure, data is protected, and risks are managed proactively.” She adds, “Through advanced analytics, real-time fraud detection, and AI-driven risk intelligence, Visa helps organizations to stay one step ahead of fraudsters.”

Visa lists tools such as Account Takeover Protection, Click to Pay, Decision Manager, Payer Authentication, tokenisation and Visa Protect Risk Insights. Decision Manager uses AI in real time to automate fraud decisions. Tokenisation replaces sensitive card details with tokens to limit exposure. Payer Authentication uses EMV 3 D Secure to identify risky transactions before authorisation and shift liability.

Visa Commercial Choice Travel, a B2B virtual card product, records a travel fraud rate of 0.0009 basis points, according to Visa corporate T and E data. The whitepaper concludes that security, speed and adaptability must work together across the entire customer journey.