TUI Belgium investigates data breach as travellers receive fraudulent booking messages

TUI Belgium has confirmed a data breach after customers reported receiving fraudulent messages containing accurate details of their holiday bookings. An international team is investigating the incident, whose cause and scale remain unclear.

Travellers have reported approaches via WhatsApp and email from unknown senders quoting their names, booked hotels and exact travel dates. Some messages reportedly also included the booking amount. Recipients were asked to follow links to verify their reservations, provide payment information or make a supposed advance payment.

TUI has not disclosed how many customers are affected or precisely which information was exposed. Although the company has acknowledged a breach, it has not confirmed whether the data used in the reported phishing attempts came from that incident. A direct hack of its own IT systems has also not been established.

A TUI spokesperson told ANP on 11 October that, based on the information available, the incident appeared to concern Belgian customers only, with Dutch customers seemingly unaffected. The company said it was treating the matter as a high priority.

Customers are advised to avoid suspicious links and payment requests and to verify any unexpected communication directly with TUI through its official channels. Accurate booking details should not be taken as proof that a message is genuine.

Sources: www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl, tweakers.net, wnl.tv