According to a recent webinar and poll of airline fraud investigators, fraud detection tools and payment fraud losses are top of mind. Thus, airlines report more than a billion dollars in online fraud loss. In order to reduce these losses each needs to be up-to-date with the appropriate technologies and be prepared for fraudsters to exploit new forms of payment and booking channels.

The survey results, released by 41st Parameter, report insufficient rules and defense mechanisms in place at most airlines. Besides, the results forecast the continued emergence of new reservation booking vehicles and a shift in the payment landscape.

Besides, the survey includes additional details:

• Fraud Prevalent Industry-wide - Every airline reported some measure of fraud within their card not present channels, with nearly one-quarter experiencing elevated percentages.
• Need for More Rules - Over half the airlines reported fewer than 26 fraud rules in use by their existing fraud detection solutions to evaluate the transaction risk.
• Alternative Payments - Alternative payments, such as eBillMe, BillMeLater, PayPal and Google Checkout, are now the preferred form of payment over debit or credit cards for 6 % of the airlines.
• SmartPhones and Game Consoles on the Web - More than 30 % of the airlines reported up to 5 % of reservations come from a mobile device or game console, with another 8 % reporting up to 20 % of transactions from these devices.

Ori Eisen, founder and chief innovation officer, 41st Parameter, said: "41st Parameter utilizes over 400 rules in conjunction with sophisticated device identification capabilities to help our customers, including some of the world's largest airlines, prevent fraud before it happens; significantly reducing bad debt write-offs."