A webinar on cyber security in call centres is to be held this month to help travel firms protect themselves from criminals. The industry’s anti-fraud group, Prevention of Fraud in Travel (Profit), is inviting anyone in the trade to join the webinar, called Cyber Safety in the Contact Centre Environment and hosted by Global Cyber […]
Category: Fraud Prevention News
Cost of travel fraud rises to top £7m
More than 5,000 cases of holiday and travel booking fraud were reported last year with total losses of £7 million. The average amount lost was £1,380 per person, with more than half (53%) of the crimes reported related to the sale of airline tickets. The largest individual monthly loss, of over £425,000, was made in […]
Thomas Cook agent spared jail after admitting fraud
A Thomas Cook agent created fake refunds to steal thousands of pounds and book herself a luxury holiday, say reports. According to The Argus newspaper, Holly Cull “racked up huge debt problems” while living in Lewes, East Sussex, so she began creating false refunds at the branch where she worked in Worthing (pictured). The 30-year-old […]
Airport parking boss jailed
Asad Malik used fake reviews and stole pictures of secure car parking to trick customers. The boss of an airport parking firm has been jailed for more than a year after it was discovered he used false reviews and photos to dupe customers into booking with him. Asad Malik, 38, of Crawley, was found guilty […]
Agent created fake refunds to book herself a luxury holiday
Holly Cull worked for Thomas Cook in Worthing and stole thousands of pounds. The 30-year-old had racked up huge debt problems when she was living in Lewes. Cull created false customer refunds, then paid for a £3,000 holiday. Hove Crown Court was told she had only paid £100 towards her luxury trip. Judge David Rennie […]
Bogus holiday sickness claims fall
The number of British holidaymakers pursuing fake illness claims against overseas hotels has fallen following a string of convictions for fraud. Ministry of Justice figures suggest there was a 19 per cent reduction in the number of personal injury claims – including ones for holiday illnesses – being brought before civil courts last year. It […]
Police seize £600,000 worth of cocaine from travel agent
A travel agent has been jailed for eight years after using his agency as a “drugs operation base”. Neil Wheatley, 46, of Tuscan Drive, Lordswood, was a director at First & Business Class Travel in Rochester, Kent. He also hid cash and drugs inside the airbag compartment of his car, before his arrest in December […]
Rita Hunter won’t have to pay back a single penny
Rita Hunter says she doesn’t know what she spent it on and has now been declared bankrupt. A crooked travel agent who pocketed more than £200,000 from clients won’t have to pay any of it back. Rita Hunter sold dream holidays including flights and accommodation to unsuspecting victims via her travel company. But instead of […]
Travel scams ‘likely to increase’ around Brexit date
Prevention of Fraud in Travel (PROFiT) is warning more travel scams are likely around the time the UK is set to leave the European Union next month and is urging people to report any suspicious activity. PROFiT said: “Organised crime will always exploit confusion and uncertainty. Regardless of outcome the Brexit situation is currently uncertain […]
Fake claims in Spain
Holiday sickness fraud is the subject of a criminal investigation in Mallorca, Madrid-based lawyer Marie Rogers explains. Local police in Mallorca opened a criminal investigation code-named Operation Hook in late 2017. It targeted the activity of a British national resident in Spain, Laura Cameron, and what is believed to be a family business of approaching […]
Madrid lawyer hails fake claims fight
A Spanish lawyer representing hotels on the receiving end of multiple sickness claims by UK holidaymakers has hailed the campaign to cut bogus claims but says hoteliers in Spain remain wary. Marie Rogers of Madrid-based law firm Rogers & Co said: “There has been a significant reduction in claims compared with this time last year. […]
Barclays warns consumers of villa fraud
Barclays has issued a warning to holidaymakers not to be taken in by scams when buying villa holidays. It says 37% of villa scams, reported by its customers, result in losses of between £1,000 and £5,000. Its research, which also questioned more than 2,000 consumers, found that in 59% of reported cases the victims were […]
Tipto agents believe cyberattack is low possibility
Nearly 75% of agents believe it is unlikely their businesses will fall victim to a cyberattack. More than half of the 62 agents polled by Tipto said they were prepared to deal with such an attack. The poll found 74% thought a cyberattack against their agency was a low possibility and 6% thought there was […]
Tui customer dishonest sickness claim
A Tui customer has been ordered to pay nearly £20,000 to the operator after being found guilty of fundamental dishonesty for claiming to be ill while on holiday. Justin Miller, of Penarth in Wales went to Cape Verde with his father, brother and brother’s girlfriend for two weeks on May 31 2016, staying all-inclusive at […]
Scottish agent has online identity hijacked
A Scottish agency which had its online identity hijacked has warned of fraudsters targeting the sector as more than 70 bogus websites imitated travel companies in the past year. The Travel Bar, in Blairgowrie, started to receive calls from consumers who believed they had booked with the business but had in fact paid money to […]
Fraudsters sick as a parrot after losing court case
A Lancashire couple posed for holiday snaps with a parrot, despite claiming to Jet2holidays that they were suffering with a gastric illness at the time. The pair have been convicted of conspiracy to commit fraud and ordered to pay Jet2holidays almost £30,000 after making the bogus claim. A Manchester court ruled that Martin and Lindsey […]
Travel agent provides a fraud warning
A Perthshire business has issued a warning to holidaymakers after an apparent fraudulent site was create with an identical name in their mind. An investigation has been launched after some residents were duped into utilizing a fraudulent holiday company, calling themselves ‘The Travels Bar’, an identical name to a favorite, legitimate business, called The Travel […]
Travel fraud database stops six criminals in first six months
Six criminals within six months have been prevented from “consortia-hopping” thanks to the trade’s first industry-wide fraud intelligence database. The Fraud Intelligence Network (Fin) is a database of more than 1,000 criminals. After a soft launch in June, it officially launches this week, at the culmination of the Prevention of Fraud in Travel (Profit) cybercrime […]
Fighting back against fraud
We saw a small but significant step forward in the industry’s fight against fraud this week with the formal establishment of the trade’s first Fraud Intelligence Network (Fin) and its database of more than 1,000 criminals. The network aims to prevent serial fraud by preventing those convicted of offences in travel from re-entering the sector, […]
Four convicted over fake holiday sickness claim
A family of fraudsters who faked sickness while on holiday, including feigning their children’s illness, have been convicted of contempt of court. Michael Jameson, 43, Claire Weir, 35, Jane Weir, 38, and Janet Weir, 63, of Liverpool made fraudulent sickness claims against Jet2holidays – asking for more than £45,000 in compensation and solicitors’ costs. But […]