by Justine Iorga
Scam artists take advantage of those seeking holiday getaway
Imagine going to book a holiday, getting the caravan loaded up, and setting out with the family to your destination only to find that it was all just one big scam. How livid would you be? We can take a guess and say very, and for thousands of devastated UK folks this very thing happened to them when they tried to book what they thought was a legit holiday, but turned out to be a cold-hearted scam.
The National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) has compiled a report and found that people looking for UK caravan stays have been targeted (among many other holidaymakers) with adverts for non-existent accommodation posted on websites such as Facebook, Gumtree and Craigslist – earning con-artists a payday to the tune of £2.2 million.
The report reveals that fraudsters hacked into the accounts of owners on well-known accommodation sites or spoofed holiday websites with cunning imitations, leaving victims with nothing but a worthless fake booking and out hundreds of pounds. It was estimated each person on average lost £889, of the reported 1,569 victims according to the NFIB.
Apart from caravanners, other unwilling victims were getting scammed on flight bookings, timeshares, hotel accommodation, sporting tickets and more. Unfortunately for the victims, only a small portion of those scammed paid by credit cards, providing them with ultimate protection, meaning a lot of those conned were unable to be compensated for money lost.
Detective Chief Superintendent Dave Clark, head of economic crime at the City of London Police, spoke of the scam stating: “The nature and scale of holiday fraud means police action alone can only be part of the solution to this problem.
“Online shoppers must be vigilant and conduct all the necessary checks before booking a break to ensure the conmen are kept at bay.
“I would also urge anyone who has fallen victim to a holiday fraud to contact Action Fraud. Doing this will help the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau to identify and target those most responsible for this harmful and upsetting crime.”
As sickening as it is that people can get away with crimes like this at the expense of others, it just goes to show that when booking your next holiday make sure you are extra vigilant – if it sounds too good to be true then it just might be!
Do you know anyone that was a victim to online scamming? Let us know in the comments below.
