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Campaign launched to combat holiday booking fraud
Consumers are being warned about the dangers of holiday booking fraud in a joint campaign between ABTA, Get Safe Online, Action Fraud and the City of London Police’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau.
The campaign will urge consumers to take important steps to avoid being defrauded, including looking for ABTA membership, researching travel companies before they book and using secure payment methods online.
New police research shows fraudsters are using fake websites, false advertising, bogus phone calls and email scams to con unsuspecting holidaymakers and travellers out of thousands of pounds each year, and sometimes even leaving them stranded overseas.
"This type of fraud is not just devastating for members of the public who lose their money, it tarnishes their experience of booking a holiday and that’s bad for our industry," said Victoria Bacon, ABTA’s head of communications.
"The police are becoming increasingly concerned about this type of fraud so this campaign aims to educate consumers on common tactics used by fraudsters and what to look out for when they’re booking their travel arrangements.
"Clearly, booking with an ABTA member is one of the simplest ways to ensure you’re booking with a legitimate company, so that’s an important message for us to get across."
A leaflet with advice and case studies is available for download at www.abta.com.
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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