What are the red flags of this scam?

An account replies to your public complaint tweet or Instagram post about a flight disruption and asks you to DM them or move to WhatsApp — real airline support accounts never initiate compensation via a private WhatsApp conversation • The account's name looks like the airline (e.g. '@British_AirwaysHelp' or '@easyJetClaims') but it is not a verified (tick) account and was created recently • They confirm your booking reference — they read it in your public complaint post, not because they have access to your booking • You are promised a specific compensation figure (£800–£1,500) before they have even checked your eligibility — no legitimate process can promise an amount upfront • You are asked to pay a 'registration fee', 'processing fee', or 'admin charge' to release your compensation — legitimate compensation schemes never charge passengers a fee upfront • They ask for your bank sort code, account number, and sometimes your National Insurance number 'to process the BACS transfer' — real compensation goes through the booking reference, not a cold bank detail submission over WhatsApp

What should I do if this happened to me?

Never respond to any account that replies to your public flight complaint offering to process compensation via DM or WhatsApp — airlines do not handle compensation this way • Check the airline's official social media account by searching it on the platform directly — verify it has a blue or grey verification tick before engaging • Claim flight delay compensation through the airline's own website only; for NATS-disruption flights, note the CAA says extraordinary-circumstances rules likely apply and statutory compensation may not be owed • If your bank details or a fee have already been shared, contact your bank immediately on the number on the back of your card to block further transactions and request a recall of any sent payment • Use an FCA-authorised no-win-no-fee claims management company only if you find them independently — check they are registered at https://register.fca.org.uk before paying any fees • Report to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

HIGH other Last reported: 27 Sept 2026 Share

A fake airline account on social media DMs you after your flight complaint — promising compensation via WhatsApp

Q: Is this a scam?

Yes. This is a documented scam pattern. After you post publicly about a cancelled or delayed flight, a fake airline account replies or DMs offering to process your compensation. They move you to WhatsApp, collect your bank details or a small "processing fee", then vanish. Peaked during the September 2026 NATS outage (2,000+ UK flights cancelled).

After you post publicly about a cancelled or delayed flight, a fake airline account replies or DMs offering to process your compensation. They move you to WhatsApp, collect your bank details or a small "processing fee", then vanish. Peaked during the September 2026 NATS outage (2,000+ UK flights cancelled).

Also known as: fake airline compensation scam UK, flight delay WhatsApp compensation scam, airline social media impersonation UK, NATS outage compensation fraud, fake BA British Airways compensation DM, flight cancellation claims scam UK

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

1 Call your bank or card's fraud line right now. Use the number on the back of your card — not any number from the message or caller. Ask them to stop or reverse the payment and freeze the account.
2 If you paid by gift card, wire, or an app (Zelle, Venmo, Cash App): contact that company immediately and report it as fraud. Acting fast sometimes recovers the money.
3 Report to the FBI at ic3.gov and the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov. The sooner, the better.

What to do right now

1 Never respond to any account that replies to your public flight complaint offering to process compensation via DM or WhatsApp — airlines do not handle compensation this way
2 Check the airline's official social media account by searching it on the platform directly — verify it has a blue or grey verification tick before engaging
3 Claim flight delay compensation through the airline's own website only; for NATS-disruption flights, note the CAA says extraordinary-circumstances rules likely apply and statutory compensation may not be owed
4 If your bank details or a fee have already been shared, contact your bank immediately on the number on the back of your card to block further transactions and request a recall of any sent payment
5 Use an FCA-authorised no-win-no-fee claims management company only if you find them independently — check they are registered at https://register.fca.org.uk before paying any fees
6 Report to Report Fraud at https://www.reportfraud.police.uk or call 0300 123 2040.

Red flags

⚠ An account replies to your public complaint tweet or Instagram post about a flight disruption and asks you to DM them or move to WhatsApp — real airline support accounts never initiate compensation via a private WhatsApp conversation
⚠ The account's name looks like the airline (e.g. '@British_AirwaysHelp' or '@easyJetClaims') but it is not a verified (tick) account and was created recently
⚠ They confirm your booking reference — they read it in your public complaint post, not because they have access to your booking
⚠ You are promised a specific compensation figure (£800–£1,500) before they have even checked your eligibility — no legitimate process can promise an amount upfront
⚠ You are asked to pay a 'registration fee', 'processing fee', or 'admin charge' to release your compensation — legitimate compensation schemes never charge passengers a fee upfront
⚠ They ask for your bank sort code, account number, and sometimes your National Insurance number 'to process the BACS transfer' — real compensation goes through the booking reference, not a cold bank detail submission over WhatsApp

Already happened to you? Do this in the next few minutes

What to do right now

Red flags

Sources