Brampton woman charged in 'airline ticket scam' that garnered over $500,000: Peel police

A second person has been charged in what Peel police say was an "airline ticket scam" that tookplace across the Greater Toronto Area almost two years ago.

Between June and December 2021, police say two people misrepresented themselves as working for travel agencies based out of the United Kingdom to gain access to a major European airline's secure online booking portal.

"It is alleged that these two individuals fraudulently sold valid flight tickets to unsuspecting customers and collected the payments to benefit themselves financially," the Saturday release reads.

Police say a 44-year-old Brampton woman was charged with multiple offences, including fraud, possession of property obtained by crime and conspiracy to commit an indictable offence.

Her charges come about a month after Peel police arrested and charged a 32-year-old man from Vaughan connected to the same airline ticket scam.

"Over 250 airline tickets were fraudulently issued and sold at a value of more than $500,000," police say, adding a majority of the victims who purchased tickets were from Calgary, with most of the flights headed to Africa.

Officers say when it comes to fraud-related cases, people in vulnerable situations are often coerced, manipulated and taken advantage of.

"Police urge individuals to properly source the website they are dealing with and verify legitimacy."

Police are asking any victims or those with information on the case to contact investigators or its fraud unit, or submit information anonymously through Crime Stoppers.