ABTA has warned people to beware of dodgy holiday companies.
The travel association is highlighting the risks of booking flights and holidays on fake websites, after seeing an increase in reports of fraudulent travel company websites.
They are worried that people looking for a bargain in January – a popular booking time – may be duped by fraudsters.
The growth of holidays and flights on the internet has provided huge opportunities for the public but also for fraudsters. For the small expense of setting up a website, unscrupulous scammers are ripping off people for large sums of money.
ABTA has put together the following list of warning signs to look out for. A combination of these may be an indication that the website you’re looking at is not legitimate.
- Flight or holiday prices considerably cheaper than competitors. Flight prices are largely set by airlines. So although agents have some leeway in price, if the agent you’re contacting is charging significantly less than everyone else, this could be a sign something is not quite right.
- Low resolution, “fuzzy” logos for trade associations and credit card companies.
- The only payment option is a bank transfer. Not only is this an indication that no bank is prepared to provide credit card facilities, but if you are dealing with a scammer it will be virtually impossible to get your money back.
- Non-receipt of tickets – constantly being “fobbed off”.
- If a company is defrauding people, there is a good chance that consumers will post details of their experiences and warnings about the company. So if for any reason you’re not sure, do a search online before booking.
John de Vial, ABTA Head of Financial Protection said: “Our consumer helpline has seen an increase in calls from members of the public who are either checking the validity of a suspicious website or, worse, have already paid by bank transfer and then been fobbed off when trying to get hold of their tickets. We want to make consumers aware of this problem and stop them from being ripped off in this way.”
Members of the public who have been the victims of a travel-related fraud should register their complaint online to the police at Action Fraud. You can report fraud and cyber-crime to Action Fraud
