# Traveler's Cathay Pacific Flights Credited to Unknown American AAdvantage Account in Complex Fraud Case

_Jul 20 21:01_

Tags: American Airlines, Cathay Pacific, Alaska Airlines, American AAdvantage, Cathay Pacific Flying Eagle, Beijing, loyalty program, policy change, airline, safety & operations

A traveler discovered their Cathay Pacific business class flights were credited to an unknown American AAdvantage account rather than their own, revealing a complex fraud case involving a Beijing-registered email domain

## Summary

A frequent flyer reported an unusual mileage credit fraud case where flights taken on Cathay Pacific (CX) were credited to an unknown American Airlines (AA) AAdvantage account instead of the traveler's own CX Flying Eagle account. The traveler, who had listed their CX number on boarding passes, noticed missing miles while auditing past flights. Upon contacting CX via WhatsApp, they were told the miles went to "American." Initially assuming this meant an American airline generally, the traveler checked their Alaska Airlines (AS) account first. Re-reading the message, they checked their AA account, which was locked due to a previous login attempt. Investigation revealed the miles were credited to a different AA number associated with an email address using the domain @qmdfcd.com, registered in Beijing. The traveler confirmed with CX that the agent specifically meant American Airlines. AA opened a fraud case to investigate how the miles were credited to this specific account without the traveler's direct input, noting it is a rare occurrence. The case raises questions about whether the frequent flyer number was swapped between check-in and flight or if there was a data compromise

## Why it matters

Affects 2 airline programs (American Airlines, Cathay Pacific).

## Sources cited

- [One Mile at a Time](https://onemileatatime.com/news/complex-fraudulent-mileage-credit-claim) — Traveler Victim Of Complex Fraudulent Mileage Credit Claim… But How?!?

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