The BBC has reported on a new online fraud whereby conmen posing as travel agents advertise luxury chalet holidays and take payments without having any relationship with the chalet owners or operator.
The BBC report quotes ABTA as saying it’s a “growing problem” and the owner of chalet operator Consensio Holidays saying that they have reported dozens of fraudulent chalet listings, where fraudsters have simply used the company’s chalet descriptions on fraudulent websites.
Part of the problem is that the listings are appearing on reputable holiday sales sites and the BBC reports on one lady who gave £13,000 to a fraudster having booked through a reputable holiday listings site.
Bookers are advised that if an offer appears to be too good it almost certainly is, to only use official payment channels with credit cards not cash transfers and to look for operators that are ABTA and ATOL protected, although to be aware that some fraudsters simply copy the logos on to their fake listings.