When it comes to booking holidays anyone can get scammed.
Sadly, increasing numbers of people are finding that the dream vacation that they’ve booked turns out not to exist.
The first thing that we want to say is that if you have been scammed, it is not your fault.
There are some incredibly sophisticated fake hotel, villa and package holiday websites that perfectly mimic real vacations.
Being scammed on a holiday booking is particularly upsetting as for many households it will be one of their biggest financial outlays of the year. On top of this, it will mean that a holiday that everyone has looked forward to is no longer possible.
We are here to try to recover your lost money as quickly as possible so you can then book another trip away.
Contact us today to see how we can help.
How to avoid becoming a victim to a holiday scam?
Travel fraud is often hard to spot but here are some of our top tips:
1. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is.
This advice is true for so many potential scams but
if you see a particularly cheap flight or bargain holiday for sale
online then you need to be incredibly careful.
Compare your
deal with similar flights and holidays online and ask yourself why
the trip you are being offered is so much cheaper.
2. Use official websites.
Sites like AirBnB and Booking.com do offer added protection and
reassurance. But even when using official sites like these do not
be tempted to then get a ‘cheaper’ deal by the person selling the
holiday asking you to pay them directly away from the site.
Scammers are able to perfectly replicate genuine villas,
hotels and holidays within these sites so if anything else looks
or feels suspicious make extra checks.
3. Google, Google and Google again.
Don’t just check reviews of the place that you are staying but
also Google the company that is behind the holiday venue. Double
check every aspect of the information that is supplied and keep
Googling it to find anything that looks suspicious.
Also
check multiple reviews of your chosen stay to see if anything
looks out of kilter.
4. Official sites
When a holiday venue or overseas event is popular it often
attracts fraudsters to set up a scam. Scammers know that anything
with huge demand means that those eager to join are more likely to
be a bit less careful.
This is where official sites add huge
value, as they can also be held accountable if something does go
wrong.
5. Are you getting hassled to buy?
If the company or person selling you the holiday starts to
pressurise you into making a quick decision then the alarm bells
should be ringing.
This is a typical sales tactic of a
fraudster who wants to close the deal and get your money.