Artificial Intelligence is popping up everywhere these days and sadly, one of the places is in travel, where it is being used both against travelers and companies in the industry such as hotels.
Marnie Wilking, Chief Information Officer at Booking.com told news agencies that “Over the course of the last year and a half, throughout all industries, there’s been anywhere from a 500 to a 900% increase in attacks, in phishing in particular, across the globe.”
AI tools are helping scammers write better in more languages to make more realistic fake emails seeking to get travelers’ personal and financial details. It’s particularly an issue for travelers, Wilking pointed out, because people are used to airlines, hotels, and travel agencies asking for that information.
She suggests that travelers take advantage of two-factor authentication, where extra ways to prove identity are required, such as a code texted to a phone. “I know it can be a little bit painful just to set up and then you have to remember which phone it’s on and everything,” she said, but it “is still hands down the best way to combat phishing and credential stealing.”
Scams against companies are also on the rise, she said, with scammers sending hotels messages that are supposedly from guests, but which contain malware. A hotel is “probably going to open up the attachment” to help a guest, opening themselves to attack.
Wilking also said that the industry is able to use AI tools to fight back; it’s been especially useful in identifying scam properties that don’t really exist, but collect reservation fees from unwary consumers.
