Travel firms have been warned it is vital to report every fraud to police as individual cases could be part of larger organised crimes affecting the trade. In the seventh part of an email campaign by Prevention of Fraud in Travel (Profit) and the Fraud Intelligence Network (Fin) with the City of London Police, the […]
Category: Latest Fraud News
Bogus UK airport email
A bogus email from a UK airport attempted to defraud thousands of people, it has emerged. The scam used a fake gov.uk address, but the messages were prevented from ever reaching their intended recipients. It was one of a range of cyber-attacks prevented last year by GCHQ’s National Cyber Security Centre. NCSC has not revealed […]
Travel firms warned to take steps to prevent employee fraud
All travel businesses are vulnerable to fraud committed by their own staff and need to take steps to prevent it, the counter fraud campaign 2019 has warned. Employee fraud has come under the spotlight this week in part three of a 10-week email awareness campaign being sent out to travel anti-fraud group Profit’s membership organisations […]
Know your suppliers, warns travel counter fraud campaign
Checking and knowing the companies you work with means your own firm is less exposed to potential fraud risks, according to the latest instalment of the Counter Fraud Campaign 2019. The email campaign, which includes free tips on fraud awareness and prevention, is being run by travel anti-fraud group Profit in conjunction with the Fraud […]
New online rules risk massive loss of business
Amadeus has warned new EU anti-fraud rules risk “massive loss of business” for online retailers despite the UK regulator’s decision to delay enforcement. An EU requirement for Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) on e-commerce payments over £30 means card issuers could decline transactions without two-factor authentication from September 14. Jean-Christophe Lacour, Amadeus head of merchant services, […]
Flexible Autos hit by cyberattack
Car hire specialist Flexible Autos has reassured its agent partners that all reservations are unaffected after it fell victim to a cyberattack. The trade-only supplier said its technology was compromised on Sunday (July 7) by a “malicious attack” and that it closed its systems in response to protect agent and supplier partners. In a media […]
Marriott to be fined £99m for massive data breach
Hotel giant Marriott International is to be fined £99m following a massive data breach which came to light last year. The Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said the personal information of 339 million customers was compromised and today issued a notice of its intention to fine the US hotel group. It comes just days after the […]
BA faces record £183m data breach fine
British Airways faces a fine of more than £183 million following the theft of customer data from its website last year. The airline revealed today that it had received a penalty notice from the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) and that it plans to appeal. The ICO has indicated that it proposes to impose a […]
Crime agencies ask trade to share details of fraud
Fraud prevention agencies have combined forces to study the extent of the issue in the travel industry and are asking the trade to help with research. Prevention of Fraud in Travel (PROFiT), Fraud Intelligence Network (FIN), City of London Police and National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB) are carrying out a case study on payment fraud. […]
Industry’s biggest fraud survey launches
Travel companies are being urged to take part in the industry’s biggest fraud survey and data analysis. The study aims to analyse information from more than 1,000 UK and Irish travel companies to produce new guidance for the trade – and potentially uncover criminal gangs operating in the sector. It will be the first time […]
Courts’ verdicts on sickness claims ‘swinging back
The industry fight against fake holiday-sickness claims and high-profile cases of fraud had a “chilling effect” on false claims, but the view of courts could be “swinging back the other way”, according to an industry barrister. Sarah Prager of 1 Chancery Lane said: “Early last year, the industry was winning all of the claims. Judges […]
Johnny Pollard charged with 22 fraud offences
Former OTA director Johnny Pollard has been charged on 22 counts of fraud. Greater Manchester Police confirmed Pollard had been charged for fraud by false representation and is due to appear before Manchester and Salford Magistrates’ Court on June 20. The alleged offences are said to have occurred between January and May 2017. Pollard previously […]
Hajj 2019 fraud warning
As many as 25,000 British Muslims will be booking trips to Mecca over the coming months to perform the pilgrimage known as the Hajj. And police have warned of the major threat of fraud. Some people could arrive in Saudi Arabia to find the accommodation they booked does not exist. Others may discover their whole […]
Members urged to beef up cybersecurity
Agents at the Advantage conference have been warned to beef up their cybersecurity to help reduce the risk of their website being cloned or customers’ data being stolen. Alejandro Fernandez-Cernuda Diaz, director of communications at the Global Cyber Alliance talked through simple, free steps that small and medium sized businesses – victims of 43% of […]
Agents urged to report fake online offers
Agents are being urged to report fake travel offers on the internet in a bid to crack down on fraudsters. The latest Facebook scam doing the rounds targets TUI, offering users the chance to win a holiday to the Maldives. It uses the TUI smile logo and includes a link to a page using a […]
Cyber security webinar planned to help call centre firms
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 […]
Carnival sales chief issues fraud warning to industry
Carnival Cruise Line’s sales chief hopes to raise awareness about a travel industry fraudster after a man started applying for jobs using his identity. Luke Smith was shocked to learn this week that a man calling himself “Hugh Harben” was applying for roles using details lifted from his LinkedIn profile. Smith was alerted to the […]
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 […]
Two thirds of hotel websites leak guest data
Around two-thirds of hotel websites carelessly leak some guest personal data to third-party companies which could also leave them susceptible to scammers, according to a new report. Cyber security firm Symantec found that booking confirmation emails sent to guests frequently contain links to their booking which are not encrypted, which means anyone on the same […]
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 […]