Woman Loses Over $1,000 To Airport Lounge App Scam – Don’t Let This Happen To You

by Gary Leff

A passenger at the Bangalore airport fell victim to a lounge scam that cost her more than $1,000.

Normally you’re going to access a lounge with your boarding pass, ID, and – in the case of credit card and third party lounges – another card (be it an American Express or Capital One card, or a Priority Pass card). You might have some of these electronically, and the lounge may take it that way.

There’s also pay-in access to many lounges where you can buy a day pass – often at costs of $25, $50 or $75 depending on the lounge. This passenger tried to enter the lounge but didn’t have the credit card she needed with her – just a photo copy – and lounge staff wouldn’t accept that.

  • They told her to download the “Lounge Pass” app.
  • They also required her to complete a facial scan for ‘security purposes’

She downloaded the app, but didn’t actually wind up entering the lounge. She went through the app signup but the whole thing was too much hassle, and she went to a nearby airport Starbucks instead.

Her phone stopped receiving calls. She thought it was a network issue, but soon realized something was very wrong when the calls she placed were answered by strangers.

She soon discovered that over ₹87,000 (US1,034.70) had been charged to her credit card and transferred to a PhonePe account. Lounge staff had apparently directed her to a malicious tool, allowing scammers to access her phone, redirect her calls, and intercept the one-time passwords required for online transactions. She did contact her bank to report the incident.

Maybe she wound up downloading the wrong app in error. I’d like to think that lounge staff weren’t in on it. But if an airport lounge asks you to download a specific app and provide a facial scan (or other biometrics) for entry, please reconsider. Don’t use a QR code to trigger an app download, go through the Apple or Google app marketplaces. Don’t ever share two factor authentication codes. And if you find yourself in Bangalore, just use your Priority Pass card to access the 080 Domestic Lounge.

About Gary Leff

Gary Leff is one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel - a topic he has covered since 2002. Co-founder of frequent flyer community InsideFlyer.com, emcee of the Freddie Awards, and named one of the "World's Top Travel Experts" by Conde' Nast Traveler (2010-Present) Gary has been a guest on most major news media, profiled in several top print publications, and published broadly on the topic of consumer loyalty. More About Gary »

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Comments

  1. Probably scammed by the Indian computer people who cold call the elderly for some scam or another . I suspect they are the same ones employed by the airlines as “customer service” . The word “computer” is a synonym in India for “fooled you” .

  2. PP has shifted to using the cc for entry. Resetting the PP app to work is a pain. They really have set it up for the scammers.

    Last lounge would not take the membership card.

  3. I would also ask people to opt out of the tsa facial scans too. They are handled by third party and can be hacked. They do not delete the photos.

  5. Indian airport workers will definitely try to scam me you, I also have experienced a scam to overcharge me but I caught it.

  6. @Isaac You can’t say for sure they do or do not. They say they do and you can trust them or not. But you can not definitely say for a fact that they do not delete the photos. That is something you either read on some ransom site or just straight made up. Either way, you don’t know for sure.

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