Scammers commonly take advantage of any opportunity to con unsuspecting people, and easyJet airline cancellations due to the current pandemic have created such an opportunity. Victims of these cancellations, many of whom are unfamiliar with the reimbursement process, are prime targets as they are more likely to turnout to be vulnerable and less wary of the scammers. The most common type of scam related to easyJet cancellations is the phishing scam. In this type of scam, the criminals will usually send a fake email to the victims that appear to be from easyJet. The scammer may also offer a “special” refund program or a voucher to be used on their website. Customers are tricked into providing their personal information, such as bank account details or boarding pass numbers, in exchange for money or services. Other common scams related to easyJet cancellations involve price manipulation.
In these scams, the con-artists attempt to lure victims by offering cheap flight tickets. This can involve creating fake accounts on websites such as Expedia and Orbitz. Once the payment is processed, the victim finds out that the ticket does not exist and that they’ve been scammed out of their money. Some victims may also be targeted by another type of scam, known as “Double Booking”. This type of scam involves conmen taking the victims’ details during the booking process, and then canceling the booking and refunding the amount in the conman’s own account. Victims are then left with no ticket and out of pocket. Finally, there are also scams related to fraudulent refunds. In these scams, the conman requests for a refund from easyJet and in exchange, the victim is offered a voucher usually for more than the amount refunded. By the time the victims realise that they’ve been scammed, the conman has already disappeared.