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Skiers targeted in online scam
Travel agents and owners of holiday accommodation have been warned to be on their guard against a new internet scam targeting skiers.
Fraudsters are copying details of apartments and chalets advertised online and re-listing them on popular rentals websites, such as Airbnb.
Chalet operator Consensio Holidays has asked for dozens of fraudulent chalet listings to be taken down from rentals websites, said the BBC.
ABTA is planning an awareness campaign in the New Year after describing the scam as "a growing problem".
Consensio Holidays’ managing director Ceri Tinley told the BBC: "Fraudsters extrapolate pictures and words from internet listings for our chalets and try to pass them off as their own.
"Often they will embed their email addresses inside the photos, encouraging people to contact them directly in order to make a booking, before transferring money into their bank accounts.
"The clearest sign of a fraudulent listing is the cost – some scammers charge only 10% of the chalet’s actual market price."
The holiday accommodation website, Airbnb, which hosts listings for more than 500,000 properties, acknowledged that people had been able to post fraudulent listings for luxury chalets.
A spokesman said: "These kinds of listings are incredibly rare, but when they happen, our team works quickly to ensure they are removed from our community and we’re always developing new tools to fight fraud."
He said that Airbnb protects guests and hosts by handling transactions and offers refunds when bookings go wrong.
Linsey McNeill
Editor Linsey McNeill has been writing about travel for more than three decades. Bylines include The Times, Telegraph, Observer, Guardian and Which? plus the South China Morning Post. She also shares insider tips on thetraveljournalist.co.uk
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