'Somebody cancelled my flight': Why you should never share your booking details online
Travel and social media often go hand in hand.
When you're on an amazing holiday, it makes sense that you would want to share snaps and videos online - whether you're keeping people updated or trying to make them jealous.
But one traveller has learned the hard way why you should never share your travel booking details online.
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Melissa had her dream trip cancelled. Getty
Melissa Doherty had her dream trip cancelled by a stranger, after she shared her excitement about it online.
The Irish woman living in Australia took to TikTok to share the story of how a "very sad individual" took her information and used it to cancel her flight booking.
"I just think that is the lowest of the low," Melissa said in her video. "How jealous can you be?"
After booking her flight from Cairns to Singapore, Melissa shared a video on social media documenting her excitement for the upcoming holiday. But in the video, her booking number can be seen, and Melissa's last name is on her TikTok account.
That means that anyone could take this information and make changes to a booking via the airline's website. Even cancel it. Which is exactly what one person did.
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Qantas has pledged to help her get a full refund. Supplied
Melissa acknowledges she probably shouldn't have shared her personal information on TikTok, but never dreamed that something like this would happen. She has a few thousand followers, not a huge amount compared to other online creators.
"I feel like a lot of people would do the same thing, I was excited, I just posted it, I didn't think anything of it," she said.
Don't share your details online
Melissa's predicament serves as a timely reminder of why we should all keep our travel details off the internet - even when you're already checked in for your flight, sitting at the airport.
It might be tempting to snap a photo of your boarding pass to share online, but a nefarious stranger can pull a lot of personal info from your ticket.
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If you do want to post your boarding pass, blur out any important info. Supplied
The barcode on a boarding pass can pull up data like your frequent flier number, contact information, and even your passport details.
"There are a lot of people out there who will take that information and do some things that could make life really rough for you," travel expert Eunice, from the Theory of Simple, previously warned online.
This exact thing happened in 2020 to former Prime Minister Tony Abbott. From a photo of his boarding pass, someone was able to access his phone number and passport number.
Sharing your location in real-time while on holiday can also open yourself up to scams.
Hold off sharing photos until you've moved on. Getty
Trevor Cooke from EarthWeb previously told 9Travel to avoid sharing your location.
"If you really want to share the location of where you travelled to, wait until you're already at the next location or back home," he said.
"By delaying your posts, you can still share your experiences without compromising your safety."
Even a seemingly innocent post like "We're off for the next two weeks!" provides valuable information to criminals. They now know not only that your house is empty, but also for how long.
