Woman is forced to miss husband's funeral after she's SCAMMED by $1K fake airline ticket

A Florida widow has been forced to miss her husband's funeral after being scammed by a fake $988 airline ticket. 

Joanne Stainer, 79, said she planned to travel from Orland Sandford International Airport to Appleton, Wisconsin, on June 1 to mourn her partner of 59 years, Joe.

But she suffered a medical emergency which prevented her from boarding the flight, so she had to book another one last-minute. 

Stainer told WFTV she made the second purchase the night before the funeral by calling 411 - a number for local directory assistance - to contact Allegiant Air. 

She said she was connected to someone who claimed to work for the airline who told her 'I can take care of that for you'. 

The scammer told her the return flight from Florida to Wisconsin would cost $988, and that the price had been inflated because she was booking so late. 

Everything seemed legitimate as the person on the phone read Stainer a confirmation code for the purchased ticket, along with a boarding pass number.  

However, the same flight on the airline's official website cost around $200. 

When Stainer got to the airport she said nothing seemed amiss and she was even able to check in and go through security. 

But airline officials at the gate blocked her from boarding the plane. 

'I said, 'Why? Why can't I go on the flight? I've got a ticket.' I thought if you have a ticket, you're good as gold,' Stainer recalled. 

An Allegiant agent told Stainer the ticket was fake. 'He said, we've had a lot of scammers. This is not the first time that this has happened to us,' she said. 

Strainer was understandably most distraught at the thought of missing her husband's funeral. 

'I was so intent on I'm going to be there to watch him be put in the ground. I owe him that,' she told WFTV.   

In a statement to WFTV, Allegiant said that the woman's 'confirmation number was legitimate, which is why she was able to check in her luggage.' 

'The ticket was purchased through a third party that has previously been flagged for fraudulent activity. Within a few hours of booking, our system flagged the third-party purchaser,' Allegiant said, per the outlet.

'Ms. Stainer purchased her ticket through the third-party on the day of travel. 

'Had the flight been purchased earlier, she would have been notified before arriving at the airport, and a customer care representative would have been happy to provide her with suggestions on how to proceed.'

Allegiant recommended that customers book tickets directly through their website to avoid being scammed.