The pandemic has provided new opportunities for fraudsters to exploit victims including new covid-related scams spawned from rapidly-evolving travel rules.
One of the cruellest scams has made victims out of people awaiting refunds for cancelled holidays - scammers are cold-calling travellers and impersonating airlines, travel agents and banks, claiming they need their bank details and personal information to process the refund.
But instead of doing so, they use this information to steal money from the customer, leaving them doubly out of pocket.
Now, consumer choice specialists Which? have warned of new holiday scams and rip-offs that are tricking travellers and leaving them robbed of their hard-earned cash.
Rogue travel companies selling imaginary flights
A renewed appetite for holidays early in 2022 has left some families and individuals feeling under increasing pressure to secure their perfect getaway.
Rogue travel companies are selling fake flights and others are promoting some of the most popular stays with scam adverts on social media, offering apparent late or peak-season availability for holidays that appear to be sold out elsewhere, Which? research found.
Customers are enticed to click through to a website where they book and pay for a holiday that doesn’t exist.
Some unfortunate customers do not realise they have been defrauded until they turn up at the airport or at their accommodation and find they are unable to check in.
How to stay safe:
Make sure to check the company website for any spelling mistakes or irregularities. A PO Box, rather than a full postal address, or a mobile number instead of a landline, can also be red flags.
Be cautious if you’re asked to make a bank transfer, which is virtually untraceable. Instead, pay by credit card where possible so your money is protected under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act.
Make sure the company is a member of a trade association such as Abta or Atol by checking the relevant website
Avoid clicking links that you are sent via a private social media message. Instead, make your booking on the official site by typing the URL in directly. If you’re still unsure, get in contact with the owners of the property being advertised.
It is also a good idea to search the internet for negative reviews or forum posts by previous customers.
Fake vaccine passports
The National Health Service has also been imitated by criminals - the NHS App gives proof of vaccination which can be used to gain entry to some of the most popular holiday destinations.
An email, containing a link to a website that looks like an official NHS platform, invites people to apply for a digital vaccine passport. The email is in fact a phishing scam to steal personal information.
Tips to stay safe:
- Never click on links in unsolicited emails.
- Recipients should check the 'from' address, 'contact us' information and copyright dates.
- Signs of a scam email include impersonal greetings, different branding, unsolicited requests for personal or bank details, poor spelling and grammar.
- Fraudulent emails may also try too hard to sound official, or convey a sense of urgency to make the recipient feel rushed. If you’re still unsure whether a scammer is behind the email you received, get in touch with the brand or company featured in the email directly.
Charging for free travel forms and Brexit paperwork rip-offs
Added essential travel paperwork which emerged from Covid and Brexit has also been used by unscrupulous companies to con people out of their money.
Which? has seen firms charging travellers as much as $99 (£75) for passenger locator forms, which can be obtained from the government for free.
When Which? carried out searches in November 2021, 19 non-governmental results were returned on the first two pages of Google alone – all charging a fee. Some appeared as an ad or ranked higher than the gov.uk site.
Similarly, some companies are charging fees for the GHIC (Global Health Insurance Card), which is free and was introduced to replace the EHIC after Brexit. Which? has also found opportunists selling international driving permits for Spain for $49 (£36.25) – despite the permits costing just £5.50 from the Post Office.
Tips to stay safe:
Always use gov.uk for passenger locator forms to enter the UK.
For other countries, search for your destination at www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice. The ‘entry requirements’ section will link to the official form.
Be wary of paid-for search-engine results – often the official site is the first or second non-paid link below.
Also look for ‘https://’ at the beginning of the web address when entering personal details. It shows that encryption is in place for your protection.
There is no advantage to applying for a GHIC or EHIC through a third party firm; a company cannot fast track your application.
UK citizens can apply for the GHIC on the NHS website. Non-UK citizens will need to fill out a form. UK students going to study in the EU can also get a Ghic by filling out a form.
