Intelligence gathered by Claims Management Regulator (CMR) officers revealed that Preston-based Allsure Ltd had encouraged holiday-makers to “fabricate or embellish symptoms of gastric illness to get compensation”. Further evidence showed the firm had used deceptive sales scripts, exaggerating expected payouts to entice consumers, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) reported. Allsure Ltd can no longer offer […]
Category: Fraud Prevention News
Identity theft at epidemic levels, warns Cifas
Identity theft is reaching “epidemic levels”, according to a fraud prevention group, with people in their 30s the most targeted group. ID fraudsters obtain personal information before pretending to be that individual and apply for loans or store cards in their name. A total of 89,000 cases were recorded in the first six months of […]
Sneaky travel scams and how to avoid them
It is not just beachside bag snatchers that holidaymakers need to worry about – much bigger losses come from pickpocketing companies and scammers trying to overcharge you from the moment you book a trip abroad. Banks, airlines and car hire firms have become increasingly creative when it comes to hidden fees and sneaky tricks designed […]
Customer fined over false sickness claim
A holidaymaker who claimed she’d suffered food poisoning on a holiday with Thomas Cook has had her claim thrown out by a judge after her Facebook pictures showed her on boat trips and drinking alcohol by the hotel pool. Marissa McLean, from Redditch, Worcestershire, said she’d been taken ill after eating ‘under-cooked chicken’ at the […]
Win for Thomas Cook against implausible sickness claim
Thomas Cook has successfully defended a holiday sickness claim which a judge branded “fundamentally dishonest”. A spokesman for the operator said the win was a “significant case which sends a clear message to claimants”. He added: “We will not pay claims which we believe to be dishonest, and we will take further action where necessary.” […]
Sickness claims ‘a serious threat’ to UK business
European hoteliers are raising prices and threatening to withdraw from the UK market in response to the explosion in overseas holiday sickness claims by British holidaymakers. Andy Cooper, head of regulation, compliance and resilience at the UK’s number-three tour operator Jet2Holidays, said: “This is a serious threat.” Cooper told the Abta Travel Matters conference in […]
Breakthrough in crackdown on false sickness claims
Joint action by the UK travel trade and police, courts and hoteliers in Spain has led to a major a breakthrough in the fight against false sickness claims. According to TUI UK and Ireland, a major crackdown has led to one law firm dropping more than 1,800 cases against the travel giant. Managing director Nick […]
Tui & Spanish police crack down on bogus sickness claims
Tui is working with Spanish police to help with efforts to crack down on bogus illness claims by holidaymakers prompted by claims management companies in resorts. The Thomson and First Choice parent company met with the financial crimes division of the Spanish National Police last week to discuss the issues and the actions that are […]
Cybercrime is rife and travel is full of bad practices
The Travel weekly and Travolution Cyber Security Summit was hosted by Natwest and sponsored by Worldpay, Syntec/Cardeasy and law firm Hill Dickinson Cybercrime is rife in travel and the sector is subject to “a lot of bad practices”, according to the head of the travel industry’s fraud-prevention body. Barry Gooch, chairman of Prevention of Fraud […]
Holiday sickness claimants
Jet2holidays claims a couple seeking holiday sickness compensation “drank shots and spirits” on the night they were allegedly taken ill. The couple from Liverpool travelled with Jet2holidays on a 12-day all-inclusive holiday to Gloria Palace, San Agustin, Gran Canaria in July 2015. The operator received a letter from an Oldham-based solicitors more than 15 months […]
Fight Fake Claims: Firms urged to tighten record-keeping
Signs that the travel industry is fighting back against false illness claims have been welcomed by a leading travel industry lawyer. Holiday firms can challenge fake claims, but they must act early and have the right processes in place, said Joanna Kolatsis, partner and head of aviation and travel at Hill Dickinson. Last week it […]
Fight Fake Claims: Monarch will not be a soft touch
Q. How quickly has the number of claims spiralled? A. In 2015 we had 96 claims, and in 2016 we had 462, which is a near-400% increase. It’s a phenomenal rise. It’s still a small percentage in the big scheme of things, but our industry and customers are being criticised by overseas hotels. Q. So […]
Industry must fight false sickness claims – TUI
In a Q&A session at the ITT Conference, moderated by TTG Media managing director Daniel Pearce, Burling, who is also Tui’s chief executive Northern Region urged the industry to come together to stamp out the issue. “This is a situation where claims management companies are tricking and duping customers into making claims when they haven’t […]
Profit urges firms to adopt two anti-phishing systems
Travel businesses are being urged to cut the increasing risk of cybercrime in the sector by signing up to two free programmes to slash phishing emails and spam. Industry body Prevention of Fraud in Travel (Profit) launched a campaign to promote the initiatives last week, both freely available through the Global Cyber Alliance (GCA). The […]
Pair quized by police amid probe into fake illness claims
Two Britons suspected of encouraging tourists to make fake food poisoning claims have been held by police in Majorca. The pair were detained yesterday by officials in northern Majorca in what are believed to be the first detentions of their kind in Spain. Officers were understood to be probing whether the suspects were acting on […]
Travel Weekly rallies trade to tackle claims epidemic
Travel Weekly is today launching a campaign to combat the scourge of fake holiday illness claims with the backing of the big three operators and Abta. Fight Fake Claims demands the new UK government changes the law to remove the commercial benefit for claims management firms to solicit hundreds of thousands of largely false claims. […]
Travel firms offered free tech to fight cybercrime
Free technology to fight cybercrime is to be offered to travel companies. The US-based Global Cyber Alliance, of which UK organisation Prevention of Fraud in Travel is a founding partner, will launch the initiative on May 30. It aims to reduce the risk of spam, phishing emails, ransomware and cyberattacks on travel and tourism companies. […]
Hackers stole credit card data
The hotel chain that owns Holiday Inn, Crowne Plaza, InterContinental and other brands said credit card information of their guests may have been stolen last year at thousands of locations, including more than 100 in Canada. British-based InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) said it is aware of “unauthorized charges occurring on payment cards after they were […]
We need a cure for bogus sickness claims
Bogus whiplash claims adding sizeable sums to all of our car insurance policies have come to the fore in the press over the years, and thankfully a clampdown on claims management companies (CMCs) and a capping of the legal fees they can charge have curtailed it. However, a legal loophole means overseas cases are excluded […]
New Cifas data reveals 173,000 cases recorded in 2016
Cifas, the UK’s fraud prevention service, has released new figures showing that identity fraud has hit the highest levels ever recorded. A record high of 172,919 identity frauds were recorded in 2016 more than in any other previous year. Identity fraud now represents over half of all fraud recorded by the UK’s not-for-profit fraud data […]