Loyalty programs—like those offered by airlines, hotels, credit card companies, and stores and restaurants—have caught the attention of hackers.
The programs require users to enter the kind of personal info hackers love: home addresses, email addresses, phone numbers and birthdates. Cybercrime has been on the uptick in these areas, as hackers steal personal data and impersonate customers, breach loyalty profiles and steal their points or sell them on the dark web.
As the losses rise in number and amount, some unlucky individuals have been hit more than once.