I received a forwarded email from my dad today asking me to look into an email he received from aa.com. He assumed it was a scam and he was correct. It did come from an @aa.com email address, so I can understand the confusion.
Now, the funny thing is that the email was confirming a flight to New Orleans in a few weeks, where ironically my parents are going during that time frame, but on a different airline. That makes the email look even more legit. But DO NOT let that convince you. While I am not a tech person, the hackers were probably able to follow searches done on my dad’s account and able to get a sense of where they were going and when. Typically, the goal of phishing emails is to obtain account information – this can include account usernames/passwords, credit card information, or any other information to scam money. This has been a problem on the internet for many years, and is currently using American Airline’s identity.
This can happen with any airline or hotel, so make sure to be on the lookout. If you do receive a fraudulent email DO NOT click on any links, download any attachments, or reply back with personal information. Clicking on a link can sometimes install spyware software into your computer or be a virus. If you are ever unsure, you can call the company’s’ customer service and they will help you with this.
Some easy ways to determine if the email you receive is a scam:
- Poor grammar, spelling, typos
- A threat saying you must respond with certain information or else your account will be closed
- Confirming an order that wasn’t actually ordered
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one usual giveaway with these emails are that there’s an attachment. Also, if you know how to read email headers (it’s easy), you can even tell better if it’s scam.
@Mike – agreed! Usually they are pretty easy to identify.
I got one today as well, thanks for the heads up.
@NateEs – You are welcome!
I received one of these same emails today with a flight to Buffalo next week.
Watch out!
A few give-aways: No passenger name. No origin city. Besides, AA873 does not go to New Orleans; it flies from Detroit to Miami. 🙂
[…] Warning: Fraudulent Emails from American Airline Imposters […]
My parents received one a couple weeks ago. I told them to not do anything and delete it. They also we booked to go to new Orleans.
I got one about a month ago. I had also been searching for tickets for my family for a trip and booked tickets with another airline so it did seem odd. Thanks for the information.