Is your business travel program a target for motivated fraudsters?

What is a motivated fraudster?

Simon Lewis, Chief Privacy Officer for Australia and New Zealand at Flight Centre Travel Group, puts it plainly:

"They are motivated. They will go searching across multiple digital channels. They will find and link as many details as they can to try and make it sound as authentic and plausible as possible to bypass your controls."

An opportunistic fraudster spots a gap and takes their chances. A motivated fraudster is a planner. They research your business, cross-reference your structure, and build a profile before they even pick up the phone. Think less "cheeky shortcut" and more "professional con artist."

These people are good at what they do, which is exactly why your TMC needs to have the right controls in place.

How fraudsters are targeting corporate travel programs

Here's what a lot of businesses don't realise: your travel policy might be more public than you think. Organisations with decentralised teams frequently publish their internal travel processes online — and a motivated fraudster knows exactly how to use that.

A policy document in the public domain tells the scammers who approves travel, what the booking thresholds are, and which processes to navigate. Add a quick LinkedIn search and a scroll through your company news page, and suddenly they've got everything they need to sound completely convincing — leaving you with a very expensive bill.

How Corporate Traveller protects your business from travel fraud

Good news: we're all over it. Our dedicated travel consultants and after-hours teams don't just answer calls and make bookings. Keeping your program secure is a core part of what they do. Here's what that looks like in practice.

Multi-step verification on every request

Before any booking is made or changed, our team confirms the identity of the caller across multiple data points. If something doesn't add up, it doesn't go through.

Trained to spot red flags

Our teams know the tactics motivated fraudsters use, including changing details mid-call, creating urgency, or trying to redirect the conversation, and they're trained on what to do if doubt arises.

Rapid escalation when something feels off

If a request looks suspicious, we go straight to your nominated internal contact to verify. No money moves, no travel gets booked, and you're never left in the dark.

Continuous review of our own processes

Fraud tactics evolve. So do we. We regularly assess and tighten our internal procedures to make sure our defences keep up. 

How to reduce your business travel program's fraud risk 

Keeping your travel program secure is a team sport. We've got your back on our end, but there are a few things that make a genuine difference on your end too.

Audit what's publicly available about your travel program

If your travel policy or any part of it is sitting somewhere online without a login required, it's time to take that down. Detailed process information requires secure access control. If you need a public-facing version, keep it generic. No names, no specifics.
 

Nominate a dedicated after-hours approval contact

Fraud attempts ramp up outside business hours because there are fewer people around to question things. Having a nominated contact who our team can reach when something looks suspicious makes a huge difference. It doesn't need to be your CEO. It just needs to be someone who knows the business well enough to say yes or no with confidence.

Keep your employee and traveller list up to date

When someone leaves your business, their access to your travel booking systems needs to go with them. Active credentials for former employees are a genuine vulnerability. Make removing that access a standard part of your offboarding process, and you'll close off a common entry point for fraud.

Use strong passwords and enable SSO or MFA

Use unique, strong passwords for all travel accounts and refresh them regularly. Enable single sign-on where available — and where it's not, all externally facing systems must use multi-factor authentication.

Why data security should be part of choosing your TMC

Travel fraud isn't just a financial hit. It's a reputational one too. And the businesses that stay ahead of it are the ones that treat security as a core part of every part of their business, including their travel program.

The goal, as Simon puts it, is barrier building. “Make your program hard enough to crack that motivated fraudsters will move on. We're here to help you do exactly that.”