What happened
A frequent flyer reported a complex mileage crediting fraud where a Cathay Pacific (CX) flight was credited to an American Airlines (AA) AAdvantage account they did not use. The traveler, who had listed their CX number on the reservation, noticed missing miles while auditing past flights. Upon contacting CX via WhatsApp, they were told the miles went to AA. Checking their AA account revealed it was locked due to a previous login attempt. The traveler identified the specific AA number used, which was associated with a bizarre email domain (@qmdfcd.com) registered in Beijing. American Airlines confirmed the miles were credited to this unknown account and opened a fraud case. The case highlights a less common fraud vector where miles are credited to a partner airline under a different number rather than being stolen from the original account