Warning on rising holiday booking fraud

[Michael Browne]

Get Safe Online has joined forces with ABTA and The City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) to warn the general public about the dangers posed by holiday booking fraud.

 

Findings from a report compiled by the NFIB reveal the scale of the crime and expose common tactics used by fraudsters who stole an estimated £7million from unsuspecting holidaymakers and other travellers in 2013.

The 2014 report reveals that over a 12 month, period over 4500 cases of holiday booking fraud were reported. The most common types relate to:

 

 

- Holiday accommodation – According to the report almost a third (30%) of holiday fraud victims in 2013 were [problem]med by the fraudulent advertisement of holiday villas and apartments, with some arriving at their destination to discover they had nowhere to stay.

 

- Airline tickets – where a customer believes they are booking a flight and receives a fake ticket or pays for a ticket that never turns up. This is the most second most common type of booking fraud, accounting for 21% of holiday booking fraud reported to the police in 2013. Average losses are more than £1000 per victim, with flights to West Africa a particular target.

 

- Package holidays – particularly group, sports and religious packages. The report highlights the Hajj pilgrimage to Saudi Arabia and major sporting events such as the Ryder Cup as particular targets for fraudsters.

 

 

https://www.getsafeonline.org/news/warning-on-rising-holiday-booking-fraud/