Remember the days when you had to visit a travel agency in order to book a holiday? It normally took more than one visit too – first you had to decide where you would like to go, visit the branch to pick up some brochures, and then go back once you’d picked your favourite options and were ready to book. That wasn’t the end of it either – paying in instalments, adding extras, booking airport transfers and asking for more information all necessitated another visit to your local travel agent. Of course, now we can do all of that ourselves from the comfort of our homes. You can even do it from your mobile phone if you can bear to browse on the tiny screen. However, all things come at a cost, and the cost of convenient internet shopping, banking and reservations is the risk of falling foul to the latest incarnation of fraudster.
A recent report issued by the Association of British Travel Agents, The City of London Police and Get Safe Online has revealed that online holiday scams have defrauded British holidaymakers to the tune of £2.2 million in 2014 alone. Ads for holiday accommodation placed on sites such as Facebook (we’ve all seen them on those local buy and sell groups) and Gumtree form a fair proportion of the scams, with non-existent caravans, villas and apartments supposedly located both in the UK and overseas being used to part unsuspecting travellers from their hard-earned cash. The majority of the fraud involved the scammers copying the websites of genuine travel agencies and related companies and sending phishing emails with the aim of encouraging “bookings”.
Individuals planning holidays and travel are strongly advised to take extra care when booking online. Never click on links in emails you even slightly suspect of being fake and avoid booking deals that seem to be too good to be true on social media are two of the major points to keep in mind. When booking a holiday online, always pay by debit or credit card in order to obtain protection against being defrauded. Never pay by bank transfer or cash, as there is no means of retrieving funds should the worst occur.
Before researching and booking a holiday online, it may be a good idea to re-familiarise yourself with our guide to staying safe online and avoiding scams.
Holiday fraudsters tend to operate mostly during the peak holiday seasons, including the summer months and December. Some of the most targeted events and services mentioned in the report include the following:
- Fake holiday accommodation listed on selling or social media sites
- Fake airline tickets, with flights to and from East Africa proving to be a particularly common target
- Fake tickets and package trips to major sporting events such as the Commonwealth Games and FIFA World Cup
- Timeshares and related sales events. A number of holidaymakers were offered free holidays and tricked into attending seminars where great pressure was applied to buy into a timeshare. One individual mentioned in the report was conned out of £62,000 for a supposed timeshare investment.
Following the publication of the report, CEO of Get Safe Online, Tony Neate, said
“A holiday is often the most expensive thing people will purchase in a given year. So, take your time and do as much research as you can to check the provider is safe. It is often much easier to find proof a company is legitimate than evidence they are fraudulent. Look for confirmation from others who were happy with the service, call the vendor, and only make payment arrangements once you feel as confident as possible they are legitimate. Most importantly, never transfer directly into bank accounts. None of these scams will work unless you hand over your money!”
For more information on these scams, and what to do if you think you may have been targeted, see the information and case studies published by Get Safe Online and ABTA.
Wherever you decide to travel in 2015 make sure that your travel insurance is up to date and gives you the protection that you need. We have a range of policies that cover families, travelling with medical conditions, backpackers, long stay travellers and the more mature traveller. Call us on 01480 402470 to see how we can help you.
