Man to be charged for buying KrisFlyer accounts illegally to use air miles on purchases

An Indonesian man is to be charged in court on May 29, after he allegedly bought KrisFlyer accounts illegally and used the accumulated air miles to make purchases.

KrisFlyer is Singapore Airlines' rewards programme, which allows members to earn and redeem miles.

In a statement on May 28, the police said they received a police report from Singapore Airlines on Oct 11, 2024, about suspected fraudulent transactions using KrisFlyer miles.

The transactions were detected by local merchants earlier in June. Officers from the Airport Police Division (APD) later identified the 28-year-old man, but he had left the country in September before the report was lodged.

When the man returned to Singapore on Jan 11, 2025, he was detained by APD officers at Changi Airport.

Preliminary investigations found that while he was overseas, he had illegally bought and accessed some KrisFlyer accounts that belonged to other people.

After arriving in Singapore in June 2024, he allegedly used the miles in these accounts to buy a Samsung phone and phone cover from a shop in Changi Airport, and some pastries from a store in Bugis.

These purchases added up to more than $1,600, said the police.

He is slated to be charged in court on May 29 with two counts of unauthorised access to computer material, and two counts of unauthorised modification of computer material.

The public should protect their online accounts by enabling multi-factor authentication or two-factor authentication, said the police.

They added: "If you notice any suspicious or unauthorised transactions, please report the incident to your service provider or bank immediately."