Airline loyalty program fraud occurs a good bit, whereby factors or different rewards currencies are stolen out of accounts. The great factor is that airways usually make members entire, assuming that fundamental precautions have been taken for safeguarding the account.
Alongside these strains, OMAAT reader Micah has simply shared a really unusual scenario with me, and I’m curious if anybody might have theories as to what’s happening right here.
Lufthansa refuses to assist after miles are stolen
On September 30, 2025, a Lufthansa Miles & Extra member’s mileage steadiness decreased from 566K miles to 183K miles, which means that 383K miles disappeared. Right here’s his model of occasions (simply edited barely by me, for readability):
On Sept thirtieth, I used to be flying financial system from Frankfurt, Germany, to Atlanta, Georgia. As I arrived in Atlanta on the early night of Sept thirtieth, 2025, I checked to see if my factors had been credited for the flight to my account. As I checked out my app to see if the factors had been credited, I see that my account confirmed solely 183,000 miles, a lack of 383,000 miles. This made no sense, and I instantly contacted Lufthansa’s Miles & Extra to tell them of this extreme discrepancy.
The individual from Miles & Extra knowledgeable me {that a} ticket had been bought on Sept thirtieth, 2025 (which is once I was flying from Frankfurt to Atlanta) from Vancouver, Canada, to New Delhi, India, within the identify of [redacted], and that he additionally used his bank card with the factors. I instantly knowledgeable them that this was not achieved by me and that I don’t know this individual, nor approved this transaction, and that this was theft from my account.
The individual from Miles & Extra then informs me that the individual is presently in Frankfurt about to board to India. I then inform the person who this individual shouldn’t be approved to journey and if I bought the ticket, it instantly must be cancelled and cease the individual from boarding. The Miles & Extra rep informs me that he’s in touch with the Frankfurt Airport to tell them to cease the individual and cancel the ticket. He then comes again on line and tells me that they aren’t in a position to cease the individual from boarding.
I inform them that this individual whom I don’t know, has one way or the other gotten into my account (I believe it was an inside job by one among their name middle individuals) and used my factors for this transaction. I knowledgeable them I obtained no discover {that a} transaction had occurred (I used to be within the air from Frankfurt to Atlanta), and I don’t know this individual.
They advised me the individual’s identify, the place he was flying from, his cellphone quantity, and e-mail. All of which I had no concept whom this individual was. It was an Indian nationwide by the identify of [redacted].
I requested the Miles & Extra individual to make a document of this occasion, they usually knowledgeable me to file an official criticism on the app, which I did, they usually advised me that my factors could be awarded again within the subsequent days.
I referred to as in two days, then they advised me in a single week the factors could be returned in per week. So, every week I referred to as, they advised me one other week however that I might get an e-mail replace.
Right now, on 15 December, 75 days after submitting my official criticism and by no means receiving an e-mail, the Miles & Extra individual reads to me that Lufthansa’s and Miles & Extra didn’t discover fraud. I requested that they ship me the e-mail stating this conclusion they usually mentioned that it has already been despatched out they usually can not ship it out once more to me. I by no means obtained it in my e-mail or my spam mail and have by no means obtained e-mail correspondence from Miles & Extra about this declare. I used to be by no means contacted by their fraud division, which they are saying was the division dealing with the case.
I then requested for them to ship me a duplicate of the ticket, the individual’s identify, deal with, the cellphone quantity, and bank card used along with the theft of miles and buy, since this was credited to my account “by me,” I ought to be capable of have all data that has been credited to my account, as I’m able to achieve this with all different airways I fly on. They refused to offer this to me, which is kind of unusual, as it’s my account, they need to be capable of present all data to incorporate passenger and ticket and extra data used to buy the ticket.
I’m fairly upset to lose $50,000 value of factors as a result of malfeasance of Lufthansa and their conducting of an investigation with out contacting me.
Is that this how they conduct enterprise? What number of different individuals have they achieved this to? It’s fairly profitable to take factors away from prospects who’ve spent their hard-earned cash to purchase these miles.
Earlier than I share my take, I wish to point out a number of issues. To start with, Micah claims the factors are value $50,000 based mostly on with the ability to guide 5 one-way first-class tickets from Frankfurt to the USA with these factors. Clearly I strongly disagree with that method to valuing miles, however let’s not focus an excessive amount of on that.
He additionally shared the under screenshot from his account of the transaction, displaying this was a “blended fee ticket.”
Micah claims that when he contacted Lufthansa, they advised him to contact Miles & Extra, because it’s an account situation. In the meantime when he contacted Miles & Extra, they advised him to contact Lufthansa, because it’s a fraud situation.
I’m making an attempt to determine how this might even occur
I’ll be sharing this with a Lufthansa contact, in hopes that this may be investigated and resolved pretty. I’m curious, broadly talking, if anybody can give you any theories right here, as I discover this to be extremely unusual?
- The saddest half is what a nasty redemption this was, as 383K miles have been used for a one-way ticket from Vancouver to India, and it was even a “blended fee ticket,” which means money was due as effectively
- How is it attainable that he can log into his Miles & Extra account (so it’s not like he was locked out of his account), but didn’t obtain any affirmation e-mail or any form of discover {that a} ticket was booked out of his account? In the event you guide by cellphone with Miles & Extra, isn’t there an account verification course of?
- He has obtained some very restricted correspondence from Lufthansa that he has forwarded to me, so it doesn’t look like he’s merely not receiving emails that Lufthansa is sending
- For that matter, how may Lufthansa probably conclude that this isn’t fraud, when he reported it so rapidly?
For conditions the place I’ve handled loyalty program fraud, I’ve been actually impressed by how professionally airways dealt with it, and the way rapidly I used to be made entire. In the meantime this Lufthansa scenario appears like a nightmare.
Backside line
Sometimes airways are good at dealing with loyalty program fraud… however perhaps not Lufthansa Miles & Extra, or no less than I’m confused? An OMAAT reader found identical day that 383K miles had been debited from his account, solely to instantly report it. Sadly that has gotten him nowhere, and months later, he has been advised that nothing can be achieved about it, with no rationalization about why.
Anybody have any theories as to this Lufthansa Miles & Extra fraud scenario, or know what I is perhaps lacking? How may this even happen if he obtained no e-mail, his account password wasn’t modified, and many others.?
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