It’s a reminder that we shouldn’t need, but one that social media keeps proving necessary: a moment of online excitement can come with unexpected consequences.
That’s exactly what happened to traveller Melissa Doherty, whose dream trip was derailed after she unknowingly shared too much information on TikTok.
Eager to capture the thrill of an upcoming holiday, Doherty posted a short video showing her flight details — including her name and booking reference — for a trip from Cairns to Singapore with Qantas.
Within days, the booking she’d been looking forward to disappeared. Someone had allegedly used the publicly visible details to cancel her flight.
At first, Doherty assumed it was a glitch, perhaps a Qantas system error. But when she received a refund notification showing only a partial return of her fare, the reality set in: someone else had accessed her booking and cancelled it.
@meld460 Sad sad people in the world, clear jealousy going on🤦🏻♀️ lesson learnt here anyway #fyp #sadpeople #trolls #jealousy #whv
While Qantas has since promised to process the remaining refund and Doherty has been able to rebook her trip, the incident has become a talking point online — not just for its audacity, but for what it says about how we use social media.
The viral response has been split between sympathy and disbelief. Many users have rallied behind Doherty, while others pointed out how easily such information can be exploited. In the end, her story serves as a digital-age cautionary tale, proof that even the most innocent excitement can come at a cost when shared too widely.
