What does bogus holiday fraud offer?
Bogus holiday frauds offer holidays at
amazingly cheap prices.
How does bogus holiday fraud work?
A fraudulent travel company places adverts for holidays -
detailing flights, hotel bookings etc. - on the internet,
Ceefax or Teletext. The holidays are advertised at incredibly low
prices. The adverts refer you to telephone numbers and/or a website
to book your holiday. After booking, you are sent documents with
travel and accommodation details.
Either your holiday doesn’t exist or
you only get part of what you paid for. For example: you
get your flight but no accommodation. Instead, the fraudster has
pocketed your money.
How to recognise bogus holiday fraud
- Watch out for holidays and flights etc.
advertised at prices that are too good to be
true - because they are too good to be true
- Check for full company
details in adverts and on websites. Find the company’s
name and full postal address then check that it actually
exists
- If the company has recently been set up or
has recently changed hands, this could be another
sign of fraud - along with the unfeasibly low prices
- If an advert refers to membership of a trade body or consumer
protection scheme such as ABTA,
make sure the membership is genuine
- Be aware of traders who encourage you to
pay in cash by not accepting credit card payments
or charging high credit card fees
- Make sure the travel and accommodation details on your
paperwork match the ones you booked.
What should I do if I become a victim of holiday fraud?
- If the company is a member of a trade body such as ABTA, report the fraud
to them
- If you paid for the holiday using your credit card,
report the fraud to your card
issuer.