A woman says someone hacked her Southwest account, canceled her family’s trip, then did something she never expected with the credit

A TikTok user claims an unauthorized individual hacked into her Southwest Airlines profile and redirected her family’s travel credits. The user, known as @papilove13, shared that she was locked out of her account after the intruder changed her password, effectively preventing her from managing her own travel plans. Her video has since drawn thousands of views and a steady stream of advice in the comments.

She says the breach led to the cancellation of flights for her family of four, forcing her to buy new tickets with her own money. The user claims the travel credit tied to those canceled tickets was then transferred and used to book a flight from Dallas to Orlando. Per her account, Southwest told her the credit had already been used and there was nothing left to reimburse.

In the video, she names the man she believes is responsible and calls on Southwest to add two-factor authentication. Southwest has not publicly responded to her claims. Many viewers, however, quickly zeroed in on one feature in particular.

Commenters think Southwest’s credit transfer feature made this way too easy

Much of the comments section focused on how Southwest handles Transferable Flight Credits. The feature allows a Rapid Rewards member to move a flight credit to another member one time, and completing it only takes the recipient’s full name, email, and Rapid Rewards number. Once the transfer is finalized, Southwest explicitly states that the action cannot be reversed.

One commenter wrote that “tickets should not be transferable to any other person,” and several others made the same point about the feature. Another viewer took a wider view of the problem, noting that “all airlines are struggling with fraud.” Others simply asked how the intruder got past the login in the first place.

Others urged her to go after the money through her bank and the police instead

Not everyone focused on the airline, as a number of commenters pushed her toward other ways to recover the money. Several suggested disputing the charge with her bank and filing a police report, while one told her to “submit a complaint with your state AG.”

In the comments section of her video, she explained that she filed an internet-fraud report with the FBI and initiated a dispute with her bank regarding the financial loss. She also mentioned plans to file a local police report to create an official record of the incident. However, the user claims Southwest sent her a link to reset her password only after the intruder had already changed it.

The complaint lands at a rough time for Southwest, as the airline is already facing customer backlash over new fees on checked bags.