British tourists claim they've been fleeced out of thousands of pounds in a long running holiday scam.
Visitors to Tenerife are reportedly being targeted on the last day of their breaks with tempting, seemingly great tech deals.
They are offered bargain laptops and iPads by shop owners on the Spanish islands who them distract them as the purchase is going through, it has been claimed.
As the tourist is looking the other way the shop owner either clones their card or puts through a higher fee than agreed, Mail Online reports.
Bridget Manning, 84, claimed she was the victim of the scam and was secretly charged more than £2,000 for a tablet that was price tagged at just £150 while Andy Evans, 64, from Doncaster, reportedly lost £1,676 last year when he tried to buy a £14.50 upgrade for his device.
He told the Mail that his bank has not refunded him a year later and that he has been "haunted" by the ordeal, including that the criminals "are still getting away with it".
Andy was buying souvenirs for his grandchildren in Los Cristianos when the the owner of the shop struck up a conversation with the Brit and his wife, mentioning the tablets he was selling.
Andy paid 50 euros in cash before he was approached by another member of staff who suggested he upgrade the tablet with a software package which would allow him to watch UK television while abroad.
"It was only €14.50 per month and I could cancel it at anytime so I thought nothing of it," Andy said.
He was told that the shop was having internet problems when he put in his PIN, prompting the shop keeper to take the machine away for a moment.
Andy believes it was at this point that is card was cloned.
The two shopkeepers drove him to another store which they owned where he successfully made the payment.
When Andy got back to the UK he found that a payment of £1.678.76 was pending, prompting him to urgently call his bank.
"I was informed by the bank, after several conversations that they could not stop the payment as I was present at the time of the transaction and it would be word against word," he said.
Andy believes that the shop owners had been scouting the bar for unsuspecting victims who were on the last day of their holiday.
Holidaymakers may find themselves more vulnerable to getting scammed due to the less familiar environment of a holiday destination, language barriers and the potential stress of jetting off abroad.
Last week the Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) warned that scammers are using increasingly sophisticated methods to trick travellers.
The CTSI warned that fraudsters are taking advantage of concerns over passport delays, in part caused by the current five day UK Passport Office workers strike.
Last year some holidaymakers missed their trips because they were waiting for their travel documents to arrive, leading some to look to fast-track the process.
Fraudsters are also offering fake “fast-track” passport services, the CTSI has warned.
The organisation has said it had seen a number of texts and emails offering speedy passport renewals, warning that victims could lose personal data to fraudsters as well as money.
CTSI lead officer Katherine Hart said: “Lots of people are preparing to go away at the moment and, unfortunately, there are a lot of adverts on social media advertising cottages and hotels at home and abroad with incredible pictures and fantastic prices.
“These bogus adverts are designed to steal our money, leaving us disappointed and without a holiday. As with any purchase, do your research, only shop with reputable companies, and make sure you are 100% sure who you are dealing with and what you are getting before you part with any money.”
