Scammers Use Venmo To 'Deceive and Defraud Customers' On Flights

An anonymous reader writes: The same morning that JetBlue Airways announced that it was the first airline partnering with Venmo to begin accepting payments for booking flights, an account on the popular payment platform was already raking in money. A Venmo user named Owen Miller paid the JetBlue Checkpoint Store for a drink on Wednesday morning, which is a typical transaction between a traveler and airline, except for the fact that JetBlue doesn’t operate that account. “At this time, JetBlue does not accept Venmo payment for inflight purchases such as food and beverages,” a representative for the airline told SFGATE in an email. “Unfortunately, we have seen accounts falsely representing themselves as JetBlue to deceive and defraud customers.”

As the first airline to accept Venmo payments, JetBlue is also the first to contend with online fraud that’s common with any digital marketplace. JetBlue only accepts Venmo as a payment option for U.S. customers when booking flights on its website. The airline said it plans to fold Venmo payments into its mobile app later this year. Travelers looking to book JetBlue flights with Venmo on its website are provided with a pop-up window that has a QR code for them to scan on the Venmo app. The airline said it works with a cyber fraud prevention business partner and its legal counsel to identify fraudulent accounts on Venmo impersonating the airline. “Still, new sites, unrelated phone numbers and social media profiles do pop-up online,” JetBlue wrote, “... so we urge our customers to ensure they are always interacting with verified JetBlue channels.”