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 […]
Category: Latest Fraud News
False travel insurance claims
Insurance claims investigators are reporting a rise in holidaymakers lying about the circumstances of their claims to increase their chances of having them paid. The Special Investigations Unit of claims and assistance providers CEGA said customers who have had their claims refused are then changing their stories in a bid to get the claim paid. […]
Lawyers face investigation over illicit fees
Lawyers are allegedly paying illicit referral fees to claims management companies for access to clients who say that they have contracted stomach bugs and other ailments while on package holidays. At least 15 law firms are reported to be facing investigation for their potential role in a holiday illness scam that is costing the travel […]
Holiday villa scam
Holidaymakers should be wary of booking trips on unknown websites amid fears they could be scammed. Money Mail revealed in January that fraudsters had set up fake websites to trick British holidaymakers out of tens of thousands of pounds. Now a remarkably similar new site – Canaries-holidays.com – has been launched. Scamadviser.com, which checks for […]
Abta data breach is bad publicity
Abta revealed a cyber breach and theft of data of 650 members and 43,000 customers last week, but insisted “the vast majority” was “at low risk” of identity theft or online fraud. The association acted promptly and has been contacting all those affected, with an expert saying Abta acted “extremely well”. However, travel fraud expert […]
ABTA steps in to resolve holiday sickness claims
ABTA has launched a new, independent alternative dispute resolution (ADR) scheme for personal injury, including holiday sickness claims. It claimed the conciliation service is a ‘simple and cost effective means for members and consumers to resolve claims up to £10,000. ABTA said the independent ADR scheme offered travel companies and holidaymakers a means of resolving […]
How travel fraud culture is on the rise
According to the latest statistics from Abta, the sector has seen a 425% rise in fraudulent bookings, costing the consumer an estimated £11.5m last year. As we have seen from yesterday’s news, organisations like Abta can also be the victims, highlighting the importance of future-proofing against these attacks. It is not just the general public […]
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 […]
Marriott Hotel warn people about fake phone scam
Think you’ve won an all-expenses paid hotel stay at a premium brand? Not so fast. If you receive a phone call offering a free stay at a Marriot hotel, you might just want to hang up immediately. According to the hotel chain, that call is likely part of a continuing phone scam that utilizes the […]
Abta cyber attack
Thousands of holidaymakers are said to be at risk of fraud after having their personal details stolen in a cyber attack on Abta, Britain’s leading travel association. Here is what to do if you think you might be affected. Who’s affected? As many as 43,000 people were affected by the hack, with email addresses, passwords […]
Companies need to take the lead in policing scam websites
Travel scams hit the headlines when two bogus villa rental sites were shut down by police after they were reported to Action Fraud. The sites had been accused of scraping real images and copy from legitimate operators’ websites and setting up a Google pay-per-click service to lure in customers. Most significantly, when the owner of […]
Scam villa sites closed down
The founder of Villa Plus has helped close down two fake holiday villa sites and has warned the public to be wary. Nick Cooper, founder and co-owner of Villa Plus, contacted police after discovering properties were being advertised without owners’ knowledge or consent. He warns there has been a big rise in the number of […]
Cruise operator sentenced to jail
Bret Gordon was sentenced last week in the U.S. District Court in Boston to 46 months in prison and ordered to pay $2.9 million for defrauding hundreds of customers of the now-defunct river cruise reselling operation Tom Harper Cruises, the company he established in 2013. Between September 2013 and June 2015, Gordon took about $2.3 […]
InterContinental Hotels Group at risk of fraud?
On December 28, 2016, InterContinental Hotels Group (IGH) announced it would conduct investigations after receiving a report of unauthorised charges that had occurred on some payment cards in a number of its U.S. hotel properties, Travel Agent Central has reported. Upon receiving information of the first compromised card, IHG hired leading cyber security firms to […]
Ibiza holiday turned out to be a scam
A group of friends have been left devastated and thousands of pounds out of pocket when their dream £4,000 Ibiza holiday turned out to be a scam. Alexandria Broad-Surry, 22, had booked a week’s getaway to the popular holiday destination with nine close friends after finding the perfect property online. She visited the website homeaway.com, […]
Villa rental website preying on bargain-hunting
A scam villa rental website preying on bargain-hunting holidaymakers has been shut down after pressure from The Independent. The site, cycladesrentals.com, was the latest attempt at defrauding travellers using images taken from genuine websites. It claimed to have been “in the field of luxury tourist services for decades”, but was in fact set up last […]
UK Retailers Hit by £100m Cyber Fraud Bill
Online fraud now accounts for over half of all fraud incidents in the UK retail sector as existing deterrents prove ineffective, according to new stats from the British Retail Consortium (BRC). The BRC’s 2016 Retail Crime Survey revealed that 53% of all fraud in the industry comes from cyber, amounting to estimated losses of £100 […]
IHG confirms payment card data breach in 12 hotels
InterContinental Hotels Group has confirmed it was hit by a payment card breach a month ago, revealing payment systems were compromised at a dozen hotels in the US and the Caribbean. According to an IHG statement cards used between August and December last year may be compromised. In a statement, the company said: “IHG has […]
Hajj travel firm boss jailed for 14 months for fraud
The director of a Hajj travel firm was found guilty of fraud and sentenced to 14 months’ imprisonment at Leicester Crown Court yesterday (31 January 2017). Birmingham City Council brought the prosecution following a joint operation between Birmingham Trading Standards and the City of London Police, in Tameside, Greater Manchester on 20 April 2015, assisted […]
Mid-air scammers given suspended jail sentences
Two men have been given jail sentences after exploiting a mid-air banking loophole to buy £1,500 worth of duty free goods using ‘maxed out’ credit cards Peter Jackson and Geoffrey Dunn deliberately took flights in order to take advantage of the scam which meant they were able to purchase items without the means to do […]