A recent report from ABTA stated that in 2018, nearly £7million was lost to holiday fraudsters from UK holidaymakers.
Common scams
Bank Transfer Fraud
Information from ABTA, Action Fraud and Get Safe Online
Number of reported holiday related scams :
Over 5,000
Average individual loss per person:
£1,380
Largest individual loss:
£425,000
Total amount lost to holiday scammers:
£7,000,000
Link to more details: https://www.abta.com/news/new-report-reveals-seven-million-pounds-lost-holiday-booking-fraud
With holidaymakers looking to secure a cheap family holiday, the temptation to use less reputable websites offering deals to popular locations is great, and that’s where the scammers spend most of their time.
Airline Tickets
Over half of the reported scams were related to the sale of airline tickets. The largest single loss per individual was in August 2018 with an individual losing £425,000 in a scam.
While beach holidays are included in the airline ticket scams, as most people still use package holidays this is less lucrative for the scammers. Instead they target people booking just flights to visit friends and family in destinations like Africa and India.
Religious trips are a particular target with individual losses of £10,000 per person being reported.
The UK has specific regulations in place governing the sale of airline tickets, if your sales don’t comply to these regulations, it’s highly likely that they are going to be a scam.
Accomodation
A quarter of the scams reported were related to accomodation.
Professional looking websites offering up-market villas for rent in popular locations such as France, Spain and mediterranean islands use photos of genuine villas but without the permission or knowledge of the owners.
Fake Websites
Fake websites are so professional looking now that it’s difficult to tell them from genuine pages.
Check the website address your on, TUI’s website www.tui.co.uk is genuine, www.tui-ukdeals.com is not. Head over to GetSafeOnline to get more tips on identifying fake websites.
“The cost to victims is not just financial; this crime causes very real emotional distress. Fraudsters are using increasingly sophisticated methods to target destinations and times of year when demand is high and availability limited, as they know people will be looking for good deals. As victims often find out just before they travel or even in resort that they have been defrauded, it can then be very difficult and expensive to obtain a legitimate replacement booking compounding the financial costs and emotional distress suffered by victims.”
Mark Tanzer ABTA Chief Executive
https://www.abta.com/news/new-report-reveals-seven-million-pounds-lost-holiday-booking-fraud
Top Tips
- Reviews. Do some research, don’t rely on a small handful of reviews. The scammers will often try to flood review sites with fake reviews, look for posts that appear fake.
If it is a scam, there’s a good change other users have posted details of their experience with them.
If you have a bad experience with a company, leave comments with honest reviews for others to read, but remember that what some people might feel is a fraud, others might accept as part and parcel of the experience. - ABTA. Check a company is registered on the abta website www.abta.com
- Pay Safe. Use your credit card to pay for bookings, be wary of requests for payment by bank transfer.
Websites
Report any fraud you suffer to the Police at Action Fraud http://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
Expert advice is available at Get Safe Online: https://www.getsafeonline.org/shopping-banking/holiday-and-travel-booking/
Find more tips from ABTA: http://abta.com/fraud
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