Travel companies need to “significantly” increase spend on up-to-date technology and “do the basics” to protect themselves from cyberattacks. This could mean investing 1%-5% of operating revenue on technology, according to experts from Cribb Cyber Security. The current average for travel companies is less than 1%. In the second part of anti-fraud group Profit’s Secure […]
Category: Fraud Prevention News
Travel agent boss, jailed after covering up £380k fraud
A travel agent has been jailed amid claims he tried up to cover up a £380,000 fraud involving his crashed Birmingham firm. Most of the cash was owed to a single creditor of Sunil Kumar Ralhan’s company, Travelogue Ltd. The 37-year-old was the sole director of the firm, which was liquidated in May 2015 after […]
Travel agent Rita Hunter remanded in custody
Travel agent Rita Hunter has been remanded in custody after appearing in court on nine fraud charges. The former homeworker appeared at Liverpool Magistrates Court on Wednesday after being arrested by police on Tuesday. Hunter is accused of booking holidays for clients which later turned out to be bogus. Victims claim they handed over thousands […]
Travel staff are the weakest link in cybersecurity
Travel industry staff are the “weakest link” in the fight against cybercrime, a security expert has warned. Cyber consultant Bruce Wynn said cybercrime attacks risked bringing down entire businesses. He was speaking at the launch of anti-fraud group Profit’s Secure Our Systems campaign, backed by Travel Weekly. Wynn, who has 40 years’ cybersecurity experience and […]
Travel insurance fraud to be highlighted in TV documentary
More than a million viewers are expected to watch BBC1’s Claimed and Shamed probe into travel insurance fraud today. CEGA Special Investigations will feature in series ten of the show at 11am on Thursday. Head of technical claims Simon Cook, a regular contributor to the programme, will educate viewers about the severity of submitting fraudulent […]
UK trade praised for action against fake sickness claims
The UK ambassador to Spain has praised the UK travel industry for co-operating to help stamp out bogus gastric illness complaints by British holidaymakers. The issue tarnished the reputation of British tourists to the country, Simon Manley told the Abta Travel Convention in Seville. However, action to abolish false illness claims in a country that […]
Former Tui manager Karen Doyle pleads guilty to fraud
Former Tui senior manager Karen Doyle has pleaded guilty to fraud after stealing more than £63,000 worth of gift vouchers over seven years while at the travel giant. Doyle, who was Marella Cruises general manager of supplier management and ancillary revenue, left Tui in May after working for the company for nine years in various […]
SOS campaign launches to fight travel cybercrime
A new industry-wide campaign aims to combat the growing menace of cybercrime against travel companies. Secure Our Systems, spearheaded by Prevention of Fraud in Travel (Profit), will be the first campaign of its kind in the trade. It comes just ahead of the launch of an industry ‘blacklist’ of known travel fraudsters, part of new […]
Cyber attack at Bristol Airport
Bristol Airport has blamed a ‘speculative’ cyber attack for the failure of its flight display screens over two days. Although the airport said there was no disruption to flights, some passengers complained on social media of baggage delays and lack of communication. Extra staff were drafted in and had to resort to writing flight times […]
Police in Europe Tie Card Fraud to People-Smuggling Gang
Coordinated police raids in Germany and Sweden have resulted in the arrest of two individuals suspected of running a cyber fraud gang that used stolen payment card data to book hundreds of airline and train tickets to help smuggle people from the Middle East into Europe. The EU’s law enforcement intelligence agency Europol, which helped […]
Hackers posing as CEOs over email is increasing
Callous con artists are targeting people who have already been a victim of timeshare fraud to steal more of their cash, it was claimed today. No, you’re not being paranoid. Yes, that urgent email from the CEO could actually be an evil plot. At least, that’s what researchers from global telecommunications company Verizon found in […]
Fresh warning over fake holiday sickness claims
A fresh warning has been issued to solicitors over false holiday sickness claims. Law firm regulator the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) has reminded them of their responsibilities when handling holiday illness claims. The SRA currently has 18 cases under investigation involving solicitors and false holiday sickness claims. Holiday sickness claims in Britain had increased by […]
Travel cyber risks rising exponentially
Cyber resilience has become “fundamental” to travel, but there is insufficient perception of the risks according to a leading specialist in disaster management. Professor Lee Miles of Bournemouth University’s Disaster Management Centre in the UK told the Resilience Through Tourism Summit in Jordan in June: “Risk is rising exponentially. “Cybersecurity is becoming more and more […]
Be wary of approaches from unscrupulous claims firms
Holidaymakers are being urged to be wary of approaches from individuals or companies encouraging them to submit exaggerated or false holiday sickness claims. ABTA issued a warning after research found that 70% of Brits don’t realise that making a false claim for holiday sickness could result in a prison sentence in the UK or abroad […]
Sickness claim costs
A fixed recoverable costs regime which has been extended to gastric illness claims made abroad will not be applied to all personal injury claims relating to package holidays, a government report has concluded. The Ministry of Justice today published the findings of a call for evidence into how to handle personal injury claims related to […]
Online airline ticket fraudsters arrested
Law enforcement agencies have arrested 141 people during a Europol-backed crackdown on internet airline fraud ticket. During the four-day effort, which took place over last weekend, the eleventh Global Airport Action Days (GAAD) initiative targeted criminals suspected of traveling with airline tickets bought using stolen, compromised or fake credit card details. The operation resulted in […]
Travel agent fraudster jailed after £16,000 false claim
A fraudster has been jailed after using his position at a travel agents to make a £16,000 false travel insurance claim. As well as making the false claim on a trip to Las Vegas, Simon Dinham also used his job to steal £53,000 from customers by taking their money and not booking their agreed flights. […]
Police probe fraudulent sickness firms
Police and lawyers are turning the tide against firms driving fake holiday sickness claims with a flurry of investigations and private prosecutions. Merseyside Police has opened investigations into two claims management companies (CMCs). It is monitoring three cases lodged against tour operators by each of the firms suspected of encouraging bogus claims from holidaymakers, with […]
Law firm starts prosecuting dishonest claimants
A law firm that has defended 2,000 spurious holiday sickness claims is now pursuing the individuals and companies behind them. Ben Ireland reports, a year after the launch of Travel Weekly’s Fight Fake Claims campaign A zero-tolerance approach to dubious claims has helped one law firm overturn more than 2,000 made in relation to holiday […]
Cybercrime now affecting more people than any other crime
The absurd and unrealistic forecasts seen in many Hollywood films have become reality. According to the United Kingdom’s National Crime Agency, organised cybercrime is now affecting more people than any other form of crime – including drugs, firearms, organised immigration crime, and money laundering. Not because it is replacing these other forms of cybercrime, but […]