Category: Latest Fraud News

Rita Hunter – Police probe reports of bookings fraud

Convicted fraudster Rita Hunter is facing fresh allegations of defrauding holidaymakers. Merseyside Police confirmed it was investigating six reports received relating to flights and accommodation booked through a third-party company but not supplied or paid for. Police have not named the company or suspects involved, but have urged victims to come forward. The six complainants, […]

No single fix for cybercrime

Travel companies should use a combination of solutions to protect themselves from cyber crime, including staff training, antivirus software and “phrase” passwords, according to a cyber security expert. Speaking at the Aito Overseas Conference in Evora, Portugal, Stephen Hall, managing consultant in governance, risk and compliance, Acuity Group, said there was “no such thing as […]

Johnny Pollard faces new fraud accusations

Convicted fraudster Johnny Pollard has been accused of duping would-be holidaymakers out of tens of thousands of pounds. Greater Manchester Police confirmed it had launched an investigation into a travel-related fraud after Travel Weekly spoke to 12 complainants claiming they booked holidays with Pollard which later turned out to be bogus. They were each offered […]

Free protection from malicious emails

Travel anti-fraud group offers firms free protection from malicious emails Anti-fraud in travel group Prevention of Fraud in Travel (PROfiT) has launched a new free Domain Main Service tool for firms. Quad9 filters emails to prevent spam from known malicious IP addressed from entering users mailbox’s. PROFiT estimates that 40% of all spam contains malware […]

Homeworker found guilty of defrauding Advantage

A homeworker who defrauded Advantage Travel Partnership of tens of thousands of pounds has been handed a suspended jail sentence. Rita Hunter, who ran Hunters Travel in Liverpool, was ordered to pay back £33,000 to the consortium. Hunter admitted using former customers’ credit and debit cards to pay for new bookings through the consortium, while […]

Holiday sickness firms to be hit by cold-calling ban

ABTA has hailed the government’s plan to ban cold-calling by claims management companies as a welcome advance in the industry’s battle against holiday sickness fraud. The House of Lords has backed an amendment to the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill that would make it illegal for such firms to make unsolicited calls. ABTA believes that […]

Nearly 200 arrested for airline ticketing fraud

An international law enforcement operation targeting airline fraudsters has resulted in the arrest of 195 individuals, according to Europol. Those arrested are suspected of traveling with airline tickets bought using stolen, compromised or fake credit card details. Between 16 and 20 October 2017, 61 countries – including the UK, 63 airlines and 6 online travel […]

False sickness claims – Tui blacklists 500

Tui has blacklisted a further 500 customers it believes to have made false or exaggerated claims of holiday sickness. The tour operator revealed its latest move against the alleged fraudsters when approached by Travel Weekly after a couple were jailed for trying to claim nearly £20,000 from Thomas Cook. Tui, which officially changed its name […]

Husband labelled dishonest in failed holiday sickness claim

Leading operator bosses and travel lawyers have urged the industry to keep up the fight against fake holiday sickness claims after the first pair of fraudsters were jailed. The sentencing of Deborah Briton and her partner Paul Roberts, who submitted a claim for nearly £20,000 in compensation from Thomas Cook, came as the government launched […]

British couple jailed for faking holiday sickness claim

The government has today launched a call for evidence to get travel industry guidance on how to tackle the plague of fake holiday sickness claims, which Abta says has so far cost £240 million. Experts will be asked to help inform the next step in the false claims epidemic to help the government, has vowed […]