Holiday scams ‘could lead to debt trouble’

A number of individuals could be putting themselves at risk of debt by falling victim to bogus holiday scams, new figures have suggested.

Statistics released by Get Safe Online have shown that 30 per cent – almost one-in-three – of web users who book vacations on the internet do not bother to check the authenticity of the travel provider they choose.

They also revealed 22 per cent – more than one-in-five – fail to check the web page is secure when entering their payment details.

Failure to do this could result in fraudsters intercepting the information provided by the user, the organisation warned.

Moreover, the study also highlighted the fact 67 per cent of Brits said they have never even heard of holiday rental scams, while 68 per cent were oblivious to the existence of fake holiday booking sites.

A further 81 per cent admitted they had no idea what the term ‘gap-year’ fraud related to.

On top of this, 22 per cent of respondents in the survey confirmed they had received unsolicited phone calls, SMS text messages and emails from businesses or individuals they did not know or recognise who were trying to persuade them to part with cash for holiday deals or villa rentals.

ABTA: The Travel Association, partnered Get Safe Online in warning the pubic about internet scams.

Mike Monk, head of financial services at ABTA, said: “With the online travel industry worth many millions each year, it’s inevitable that fraudsters will follow the money trail.”

Research recently conducted by Santander Cards found the cost of a getaway abroad soars by an average of 38 per cent during the school summer holidays.

By Joe Shervin