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Hacker stole points

Bgenjoytheride
Explorer C

On 2 14 2019 I received an email from Southwest Airlines that somebody had booked two tickets using my points. They flew from Atlanta to Las Vegas. One way. I live in Colorado.

 

I immediately called and emailed Southwest Airlines. Letting them know somebody stole my points. Since that time I've only received two automated replies and no resolution.

 

Having done some research, it became very evident there are numerous Southwest Airlines customers that have lost their points due to hackers. The media has even reported on this. And it has been going on for years. So it's definitely a system failure that Southwest Airlines has not corrected.

 

SW has a fiduciary responsibility to reinstate all points that are stolen by hackers from their defective system.

 

Is anyone aware of a class action lawsuit?

 

 

9 REPLIES 9

Re: Hacker stole points

bec102896
Aviator A

@Bgenjoytheride 

 

I'm sorry to hear your points were stolen. I recommend you reach out to customer relations at 855-234-4654 so they can investigate. It will take time to investigate so be patient. 

 

Be sure you change your password as well 

 

Hope you get your points back!

Blake

Re: Hacker stole points

Bgenjoytheride
Explorer C

I've already called the "executive" offices in Dallas numerous times.

 

Next call is going to be to attorneys.

 

 

Re: Hacker stole points

chgoflyer
Aviator A

@Bgenjoytheride wrote:

I've already called the "executive" offices in Dallas numerous times.

 

Next call is going to be to attorneys.

 


That would be a waste of time and money.

 

The terms and conditions of the Rapid Rewards program specifically state: Southwest Airlines is not responsible for unauthorized access to a Member’s Account and will not replace stolen points or awards.

 

Your best bet is to try to work with Customer Relations, who will turn your case over to a special internal group who researches these claims. While the investigation does take time, in general, if they are able to determine that the points were not used by you or someone you know, they do generally reinstate them.

 

Also, obviously, immediately change your account password to a very strong one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Re: Hacker stole points

elijahbrantley
Aviator A

There is a potential for this with all loyalty programs — not just SW. It is crucial to protect your sensitive info and have a complex password to prevent these issues, but they still happen, and it’s so frustrating!!!

 

Fortunately, SW has not been the victim of a hack like some other high-profile travel loyalty problems.

 

it sounds like you have pursued this pretty extensively, but if you have not tried, I would simply reach out to customer service at 1 800 I FLY SWA or to @southwestair on Twitter. 

 

Good luck. 

 

 

-A List, Companion Pass holder

Re: Hacker stole points

jpinela202
Explorer C

This just happened to me as I returned from Vacation.   Someone booked a flight from Baltimore to Las Vegas - and used up 40,000 points.  They changed the email address on the primary to avoid notifying me.

 

Were you able to resolve anything?  Im talking with the Executive Customer service after a 1 HOUR WAIT.  Hoping they can investigate and restore my points.  They should easily be able to identify who flew with that reservation and put a block on them in the system so they can't fly southwest anymore.

 

Any additional information is greatly appreciated.

Re: Hacker stole points

dfwskier
Aviator A

@jpinela202 wrote:

This just happened to me as I returned from Vacation.   Someone booked a flight from Baltimore to Las Vegas - and used up 40,000 points.  They changed the email address on the primary to avoid notifying me.

 

Were you able to resolve anything?  Im talking with the Executive Customer service after a 1 HOUR WAIT.  Hoping they can investigate and restore my points.  They should easily be able to identify who flew with that reservation and put a block on them in the system so they can't fly southwest anymore.

 

Any additional information is greatly appreciated.


Four points here

 

1) In the future, don't waste your time on hold listening to elevator music. Send an e-mail and request a return call. To send an e-mail click on "contact us" at the bottom of this page, and then pick e-mail from the contact choices listed on the top left of the ensuing page. Doing so allows you to print the page you are sending so you can document your contact.

 

2) Change your password, if you have not already done so.

 

3) The airline may not know who the traveler was. How is that? Well the person could have booked the ticked in a false name and used a real ticket in his/her name to clear TSA. Then cancel the real ticket and then use the one with the fraudulent name.

 

4) As said earlier in the thread, the company will investigate, and assuming it can document theft, you should get your points back.

 

Good luck 

Re: Hacker stole points

Ellenrosen
Explorer C

I'd like to speak to you about this. Can you email me directly

Re: Hacker stole points

SWDigits
Aviator A
This is a public forum so you may want to edit your message to remove your email address. If you're trying to get in touch with Southwest I recommend clicking the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of the page for options

Customer | Home airport DCA

Re: Hacker stole points

jksobonya
Aviator A

If Southwest has any 'flaw' at all, this may be it. It's unfortunate that unauthorized access to your account resulted in points being used without your knowledge. 

 

I've been reading several of these threads, and ironically, I received an e-mail from Southwest just a few days ago titled: "Action needed - unauthorized account access." Southwest deactivated my password due to my account potentially being accessed without my consent. The day before, a Southwest rep helped me book a flight with points - so could these actions have been related? Or was someone else trying to access my account? Unknown, but I had 2 things in my favor: my account has less than 2,000 points currently, and I don't store any payment information on Southwest.com. If someone *did* try to hack my account with the intention to steal points, I bet they were pretty disappointed 😉 

 

But if I was in a scenario where thousands of points *were* stolen, I'd try everything possible to get them back. It would be pretty obvious to prove that the flights were not booked by me if the flights left anywhere other than PHL since PHL is my primary airport,  and I don't fly out of any other location. If they tried to redeem points for *stuff* (RR Shopping), I could make the argument that I have never once used RR Shopping (although I should probably take advantage), but that would obviously be more difficult to prove.


Good luck, and I hope you get a satisfactory resolution to this if you haven't already. 

 

--Jessica