Cybercriminals are increasingly targeting travellers as digital platforms become central to planning, booking, and managing journeys.

Over the past year, Kaspersky solutions detected nearly 270,000 attack attempts disguised as popular travel-related brands, highlighting the growing risks associated with online travel services.

To help travellers stay secure while exploring new destinations, Kaspersky has launched Kaspersky Safe Travel Insights, a handbook combining travel inspiration with cybersecurity guidance.

The initiative features insights from Kaspersky employees across more than 20 countries, including Türkiye, South Africa, and Egypt, sharing local travel recommendations alongside advice on digital threats travellers may encounter.

Transport brands remain the biggest target

Kaspersky researchers found that transport-related brands were the primary focus of cybercriminal activity.

Between Q2 2025 and Q1 2026, Kaspersky solutions recorded 262,663 detections linked to major transport brands, including airlines, ride-sharing services, and travel platforms.

Attacks impersonating Emirates accounted for 61% of all transport-related detections, while Uber accounted for 37%.

The findings show that cybercriminals are exploiting widely recognized brands with large customer bases and frequent online payment activity.

Trojans were the most common threat detected among files and objects associated with transport brands, accounting for 30.5% of detections, followed by Trojan-Bankers at 22.5%.

These malicious programmes are designed to steal banking credentials and payment information, meaning attackers are often targeting travellers’ financial data rather than only their booking details.

Kaspersky researchers also uncovered scams involving fake compensation claims. In one example, cybercriminals impersonated Irish airline Ryanair by sending messages claiming victims were eligible for flight compensation.

 Victims were then directed to provide account details or pay a small processing fee to receive the supposed refund.

Kaspersky warned that such scams often rely on extreme urgency, pressuring users to act immediately.

 Legitimate airlines do not require travellers to make instant decisions or pay upfront fees to process refunds.

Travel platforms face growing cyber risks

While transport brands remain the largest target, travel booking and accommodation services also face cyber threats.

Between Q2 2025 and Q1 2026, Kaspersky recorded 5,414 attack attempts involving travel and accommodation brands.

Trojans represented the majority of detected threats in this category, accounting for 54.6% of cases.

Travel accounts are attractive targets because they often contain personal information, payment details, booking histories, and communications with service providers.

One scam identified by Kaspersky involved a fake Booking.com page designed to collect users’ personal and payment information.

Victims believed they were completing a legitimate reservation, but no booking confirmation was issued and payments were redirected to scammers.

“Travel brands sit at a unique intersection of trust, urgency and payment activity, which makes them extremely attractive to cybercriminals seeking to appear legitimate. People booking a flight or a ride are often moving quickly, comparing prices across several tabs, and are primed to click on anything that looks like a good deal or an account issue. What's striking in our transport data is that the most-targeted brands span completely different services — from ride-sharing to full-service airlines — which tells us that attackers are casting a wide net rather than focusing on one niche,” said Evgeny Kuskov, Lead Security Researcher at Kaspersky.

Kaspersky advises travellers to book only through official websites and apps, verify website addresses before entering payment information, avoid suspicious offers, use strong passwords with multi-factor authentication, and download apps only from trusted sources.

The company also recommends monitoring bank statements after bookings, avoiding unverified QR codes, and using security tools such as VPN protection and AI-powered scam detection features to help identify phishing websites and fraudulent payment pages.

Through Kaspersky Safe Travel Insights, the company aims to help travellers discover destinations confidently while remaining aware of digital threats, including phishing, payment scams, and risks associated with public Wi-Fi networks. -TradeArabia News Service