Reported travel fraud cases against consumers up 20%
Almost 6,000 unsuspecting UK travellers lost a total of £7.2 million from holiday booking fraud last year.
The number of reported cases rose by almost 20% from 2015 from 4,910 to 5,826 with an average loss of £1,200 per person.
The most common types of fraud involve the sale of airline tickets, booking accommodation online and timeshare sales.
But Abta, the City of London Police and fraud prevent body Get Safe Online believe that these figures are only the tip of the iceberg with many victims not reporting the fact that they have been defrauded.