COVID-19 Passports, A Fraudster’s Treasure Trove? – Panel March 2021

March Trend Sharing Session

COVID-19 Passports, A Fraudster’s Treasure Trove?

Date: Tuesday, March 30th
Time: 10 am EDT/ 3 pm BST
Location: Online
Delegates: 180+

Overview

Panelists

Overview

As vaccines are rolled out, more countries and businesses are reopening. After the contact tracking apps, we are now seeing the emergence of the COVID-19 Passport. An electronic account linked to individuals containing personal information and proof of vaccination or negative test results. There are several suppliers of these COVID-19 Passports, and they will most likely become required for air travel. With these “Green Passports”, named after the green checks used to indicate the status of vaccination or test results, people are granted more movement: access to restaurants, theatres, (sporting) events, and more.

In this webinar, our panelists discussed

What COVID-19 Passports are, what data they contain, and why they are being used
How the passports in use function on a national and international/travel level so far
If mandated for travel, how the travel industry will have to adjust to check validity, as they do with visas
Whether incentivizing a COVID-19 Passport, vaccine, or PCR test is a good idea
How this is like any other (loyalty) account and vulnerable to fraud, attacks, account takeover, and identity theft, and how they are already popping up on the Dark Web

Panelists:

Mark Ross-Smith, CEO, Loyalty Data Co
Stuart Barwood, Director Global Airline Strategy, Forter
Gary Leff, Author, View from the Wing
Peter Gerstle, Head of Travel, Collinson Group
CD Lazear, Partner, Blue Ribbon Bags

Panelists

Mark Ross-Smith

CEO

With 15+ years of experience, Mark is considered a global Leading Loyalty & Big Data Expert. He has built his own big data loyalty business which has generated millions, driven customer behavior in a social context, and revolutionized the way loyalty marketing works within the telco, airline, and hospitality sectors.

Besides being CEO of Loyalty Data Co, Mark is also the Founder of Travel Data Daily and has published over 50 papers and articles on airline loyalty.

Gary Leff

Author

Gary is most known as the author of the popular travel blog “View from the Wing” and as one of the foremost experts in the field of miles, points, and frequent business travel – a topic he has covered since 2002.

In daily life, he is Chief Financial Officer for a university research center. In addition, he is also Chairman and CEO at Miles and Points Consulting and he is Chair of the Nominations Committee for the Freddie Awards.

Peter Gerstle

Head of Travel

Peter has over 25 years of expertise in the travel sector with experience in loyalty, product development and innovation, and marketing.

He has previously worked for InterContinental Hotels and easyJet. At easyJet he introduced the paid-for membership frequent traveler benefit program. Peter is now leading the strategy vision for travel products at Collinson Group.

Stuart Barwood

Director Global Airline Strategy

Stuart Barwood has a strong history in the airline industry, from growing networks for EasyJet and helping develop an airport, to several years consulting for big organizations like IATA and companies as Amadeus and Sabre.

CD Lazear

Partner

CD Lazear is the Senior Vice President of Sales and Integrations at Blue Ribbon Bags; a New York-based company specializing in locating and expediting delayed luggage. He travels internationally every 2-3 weeks visiting clients, airports, and service providers. With more than 12 years in the logistics industry and international trade, he’s gathered a plethora of stories that he’s happy to share with you.

Originally from South Africa, currently based in the Middle East with an office in NYC – travel is in his blood, and having the correct documents and memberships are crucial. In his spare time, he enjoys the beach and a relaxing safari vacation with his family.

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