BlockID for the Travel Industry: Contact-free authentication to proof travelers' ID and streamline the entire travel journey

The travel industry suffers...

Security Security Security has to be the travel industry's motto. Unfortunately, as of today, the industry is defrauded of billions of dollars every year because of illicit actions perpetrated by very savvy con artists and hackers.

The use of stolen or fake credit cards attached to identities backed by stolen or fake documents such as driver's licenses for booking flights and hotel rooms is the most common cause for airline and hospitality fraud on a global scale. 

Travel industry employees are vulnerable to the scams of fraudsters, especially when it comes to email phishing scams. Phishing emails, impersonating their employer, trick employees into giving away their system login credentials. 

Intermediaries, like travel agencies are not necessarily above suspicion. Some have been identified as charging customers cancellation fees under the pretext of major airlines and hotel chains, and further fabricated stories to those major companies about why tickets and stays were cancelled.

The travel industry is also known for having low standards regarding data and transaction security, from storing customers' data in centralized systems to transacting via simple and easily hackable point of sale machines. Each year, airlines and hotels face major data breaches. Then adding weak monitoring of employees and vendors that interact with their booking platform becomes a recipe for disaster to happen again. 

... And the traveler loses trust.

While the travel industry remains the victim of criminal activities, the consumer remains the collateral victim of this criminality. 

Consumers are likely the easiest to fall prey to the scams of fraudsters. From email phishing scams, to stolen credit cards and mobile devices, there are innumerable ways consumers can be duped into giving away private information to hackers. Those situations create much anguish and erode the reputation and credibility of the travel industry's players. 

Each time a data breach occurs, hundreds of thousands if not millions of airlines and hotels customer accounts are hacked, and thousands of flights and hotel stays are booked using the stolen data at the expense of the customer.  

Loyalty miles and points are also the targets of criminals, because they lack the security and safety measures that money has. All a hacker requires is to access the customer account before booking tickets, hotel accommodation, or any other services proposed as rewards without having to go through a payment gateway.

Sometimes, after an online search to find the cheapest flight to a destination, the consumer finds a website with a great deal. The consumer pays with a credit card and shortly after making the payment, he or she receives a call from the company asking you to verify your name, address, banking information or other personal details – something a legitimate company would never do. Do I need to say more...?