UK tourists are being warned to carry out amateur detective work to avoid booking into fake accommodation this summer, as social media scams targeting holidaymakers surge.
Social media scammers target peak travel season
George Ralchev, head of risk at payment service provider emerchantpay, which commissioned the research, said holidaymakers were being targeted by social media scammers “looking to take advantage of the peak travel season.” The warning comes as millions of Britons plan summer getaways, with fraudsters creating convincing fake listings on platforms like Facebook, Instagram, and even fake versions of legitimate booking sites.
Which? says findings 'sadly unsurprising'
Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at the consumer group Which?, said the findings were “sadly unsurprising” and reflected its own research that social media firms were “failing to take meaningful action to tackle the flood of scams on their platforms.” She added: “The onus should not fall on consumers, but there are ways to help you spot fake holiday listings – such as using a reverse image search to check for stolen images or checking the property’s location on an online map to see that it exists.”
Money Saving Expert's tips to spot fake listings
BBC and ITV star Martin Lewis' team at Money Saving Expert advised: “Check the website address. For example the official Airbnb website is www.airbnb.co.uk and the official Booking.com site is www.booking.com – but the fake Airbnb website above was at Airbnb[.]ld83528[.]ru, while the Booking.com fake was at SecurePropertyCheck[.]com (we've inserted square brackets into the URLs to try to prevent them from being picked up as working links).”
They also urged: “Scrutinise the company's contact details. Is there an address and a working phone number? Can you easily get through to customer services? Are they responsive? Is there an online chat? A lack of working contact details could indicate a scam.”
“Check for feedback. Don't just rely on the firm's website. If the company is unfamiliar, search online for reviews and feedback.”
Payment protection advice
“Pay on plastic. If you're asked to make a bank transfer or use a currency transfer service, such as MoneyGram or Western Union, this is likely to be a scam – and you've very little protection if something goes wrong. In contrast, paying on a debit or credit card gives you chargeback or Section 75 protection.”
Tourists are advised to be vigilant and report any suspicious listings to the platform and Action Fraud.
