Accommodation: the most common stings are a fake website which looks like a genuine online travel agent, people hacking into an account on a genuine site or links on websites and social media.
Airline tickets: again, a website masquerading as a genuine website or an unknown airline are the most common practices for tricksters. Customers think they are booking a flight and receive a fake ticket or pay for a ticket that never turns up. Flights to West Africa are a particular target.
Sports events or trips: These are often an attractive target due to limited availability and higher desire amongst those who wish to attend. In 2014 the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and the World Cup in Brazil were targeted. Many people found they’d paid for non-existent accommodation or tickets to the events.
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Religious trips: Religious trips or hajj to Mecca or Medina in Saudi Arabia were once again targeted with high losses for pilgrims.
Holiday clubs: Vacationers were offered free holidays if they attended a seminar about timeshares. Once there, they were duped into buying fake timeshares.
Detective chief superintendent Dave Clark, the City of London Police head of economic crime, said: “The internet has revolutionised the way we look for and book our holidays. The unfortunate reality is that it is also being exploited by fraudsters who use online offers of accommodation and flights that do not exist or promising bookings that are never made to rip off unsuspecting holidaymakers.”
The City of London Police, ABTA and Get Safe Online have published their tips for not falling prey to online fraud:
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