15 May 2023

Avoid the holiday scammers

4 minute read

According to ActionFraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, the average victim of holiday scammers lost £1,868 in 2021-2022. The scam involves convincing would-be holiday goers to hand over their money or personal information when booking online. Sophisticated scammers use fake online adverts, sales calls, emails and text messages offering incredibly cheap holidays, often using images of legitimate hotels and accommodation they have stolen from elsewhere. In most cases, the victim will not realise that their holiday, flight or hotel booking doesn’t exist until their holiday is due to begin, by which time the scammer is long gone.

How to spot a holiday scam

•   The price is significantly lower than can be found elsewhere.

•   You’re contacted by phone, email or text by a travel agent or company you’ve never spoken to before, offering a holiday at a very low price.

•   You searched online for a holiday and you have been contacted by a representative of that company who offers to walk you through the payment process.

•   You searched for independent website reviews of the holiday accommodation you’re looking at and they are negative or there aren’t any.

•   You are asked to send copies of your passport or other personal details.

•   You’re asked to pay using bank transfer or cash.

•   You have made a booking with a company but you are unable to contact them or they are not replying to your messages.

•   You have made a booking with a company but have not received a receipt, invoice or terms and conditions.

•   You booked a flight and paid in full but no ticket has arrived.

•   You are booking a visa on what looks like an official website, but you are asked to pay an additional fee, over and above the cost of the visa.

How to prevent a holiday scam.

•   If booking through a travel agent, make sure they are a member of (ABTA (Association of British Travel Agents) and if you’re booking a flight and more, check they really do have ATOL (Air Travel Organiser's Licence) protection. Don’t take their word for it.

•   Check the website address carefully. Sophisticated scammers can build very convincing versions of legitimate websites so check the URL for subtle differences (.co.uk instead of .org for example)

•   Do not send any personal information, including copies of your passport and bank details.

•   Never pay by bank transfer or cash.

•   If booking flights, full details of the flight and itinerary should be shown together with a six digit PNR (Passenger Name Record) number, which is your unique ID. No one can book a flight, pay for a ticket or get on a plane without a PNR.

•   If booking a visa, always use official government sites for the country you’re visiting. You can find out more information on this and other key requirements you need to know about on the UK government website.

•   Check for independent reviews of companies or accommodation. If they are scammers, victims are likely to have written about them. If none exist, this is a red flag.

•   Listen to your inner voice: if it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is.

How to report a holiday scam.

• Report the scam to ActionFraud, the reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime in England, Wales and Northern Ireland: