Online Scams Leave Broken Hearts at Airports
She thought a major general would meet her at PIT -- instead she was out $3,000
By Bob Kerlik
Published October 14, 2019
Read Time: 3 mins
Editor’s note: October is National Cybersecurity Awareness Month, and each week Blue Sky will be featuring a story about cybersecurity and related issues to highlight the importance of digital safety in airports and beyond.
Less than a month ago, a woman in her 60s showed up at Pittsburgh International Airport, ready to meet her military boyfriend for the first time in person.
She waited for hours, finally asking the customer service representatives when the flight from Madrid would arrive.
No such flight existed.
“She had gotten contacted on Facebook and they started talking online,” said Kelli Finnerty, the airport customer service representative who spoke with the woman. “She said he was a major general in the U.S. military and he needed her to send money in order to get him home from his military service.”
The major general never showed up. Instead, the woman was the victi