POLICE have issued a warning over online holiday fraud – as victims report losing more than £7,000,000 to scammers.
In the past financial year, Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, received 4,244 reports of holiday and travel related fraud – and recorded a substantial increase of more than 120 per cent when compared to the previous financial year.
Victims reported losing a total of £7,388,353 – which is an average loss of £1,868 per victim.
Action Fraud has launched a national awareness campaign to urge the public to think twice before handing over money and personal information when booking holidays online.
The team have released advice to follow when booking a holiday, to avoid being hit by a scammer:
- Stay safe online: check the web address is legitimate and has not been altered by slight changes to a domain name – such as going from .co.uk to .org.
- Do your research: don’t just rely on one review – do a thorough online search to ensure the company is credible. If a company is defrauding people, there is a good chance that consumers will post details of their experience, and warnings about the company.
- Look for the logo: check whether the company is an ABTA Member. Look for the ABTA logo on the company’s website. If you have any doubts, you can verify membership of ABTA online on their website. If you’re booking a flight as part of a package holiday and want more information…
