New travel scam that steals holidaymaker's money on the rise: Here's how you can stay safe

Travellers are being urged to be wary of new scams circulating that offer holiday deals and fast track passport applications that are too good to be true. The latest swindle uses a variety of different tactics to trick people out of their money and personal information and exploits Brits’ desire to go on holiday as we enter the busiest time of the year for holiday bookings.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) is warning members of the public of the increasingly sophisticated and convincing ways holidaymakers are duped into paying for travel deals that turn out to be scams. Tactics include bogus emails, texts and phone calls as well as social media listings and online adverts. The CTSI also offers a number of tips to avoid these pitfalls and help people stay safe travelling this year.

Bogus travel deals and passports scams

The most common scam to be on the lookout for is the plethora of social media listings and online ads doing the rounds. Fraudsters use attractive pictures of holiday cottages and hotels, accompanied by fantastic prices and tempting special offers to entice travellers into booking a bargain.

However, these pictures and prices often turn out to be entirely fabricated and people don’t realise until it is too late. Often victims don’t realise they’ve been scammed until they arrive at the airport and find their flight booking doesn’t exist.

In lots of these examples victims are asked to pay by cash, via bank transfer or through services such as Western Union, which are difficult to trace and provide no payment protection.

Another scam exploits the disruption caused by industrial action by UK Passport Office workers. This ruse offers bogus ‘fast track’ services to help holidaymakers beat the queues. However, again these turn out to be fake and will take victims’ money and also use the personal data they harvest to commit identity theft.

CTSI Chief Executive, John Herriman, explained, as per The Independent:

As always, scammers are quick to leap on any opportunity to take advantage of uncertainty and upheaval. The exploitation of delays brought about by Passport Office strikes are just the latest example of scammers preying on people’s vulnerability.

People work hard and save all year round for their holidays – scammers know this, but they don’t care. We can all fight back though by being alert, by following a few simple guidelines, and spreading the word about the harm these scams can cause.

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How to avoid being scammed

The CTSI urges the public to stay safe by following these steps:

• Check the URL and security of any website you are booking a holiday through
• Always look at independent reviews, not just reviews on a website or advert itself
• Do your research and contact the owners of a holiday cottage before making a booking
• Pay using a protected payment method such as a credit card, debit card or PayPal’s Buyer Protection service

CTSI lead officer Katherine Hart also recommends being wary before parting with any cash, as per Trading Standards:

As with any purchase, do your research, only shop with reputable companies, and make sure you are 100% sure who you are dealing with and what you are getting before you part with any money.

For consumer advice, please call the Citizens Advice Consumer Helpline on 0808 223 1133

To report scams in England and Wales, contact Action Fraud. In Scotland, contact Advice Direct Scotland on 0808 800 9060, or if in Northern Ireland, call Consumerline on 0300 123 6262.

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Sources used:

- The Independent 'Travel scam warning for holidaymakers as fraudsters exploit passport delays@

- Trading Standards 'CTSI warns of holiday and passport scams as travel season begins'