Scam alert: Holiday booking scams

Stay safe from holiday scams

Holiday scams are when a criminal impersonates trusted websites or creates fake adverts to trick you into booking a holiday, giving them your money and/or personal information. This personal information can be sold and used by other fraudsters to aid other scams.

These scams may consist of fraudulent adverts on legitimate platforms such as Booking.com, Airbnb or Vrbo, hoping you will click and make payments directly to them instead of a genuine provider. Some even clone real company websites, making it difficult to spot the scams.

How to spot a holiday scam:

• ‘Too good to be true’ deals – Be cautious of deals that seem unbelievably cheap and free holiday competitions, especially those received through social media, text message or email. Flight prices are largely set by airlines – with travel agents having some leeway – so, charging significantly less is often a sign of a scam.
• Check your protections – If you book through a travel agent or broker, make sure they’re ABTA or ATOL protected. This is a clear sign they are legitimate. If you book independently, check if you’re dealing with the property owner, a letting agent or the local tourist information desk. This will be useful if anything goes wrong with your booking.
• Double-check website addresses – When you are booking a holiday, always be sure to double-check the website you are using. Remember, the top few options on Google are usually adverts, and this is where scams are most likely to appear.
• Proceed with caution when making payment – If paying by bank transfer is your only option, this could be a sign of a scam. Remain cautious if you are asked to pay directly into a private individual’s account as fraudsters prefer this method due to its traceability challenges. If you are on holiday booking websites such as Booking.com, Airbnb or Vrbo you should always use their internal system to make payment.
• Check multiple online reviews – Use review websites such as Trustpilot or TripAdvisor, especially if dealing with lesser-known companies. Be sure to check several reviews as fraudsters are known to post fake content in order to boost their rating. You can also use other websites such as Who.is to find out when the site was registered, as well as Companies House to see if the company really exists.

If you are ever unsure of the legitimacy of any link, website, company, advert, email or text you come across, please feel free to ask us to take a look by sending it to fraud@weatherbys.bank or by asking your private banking team or Relationship Manager to forward it to us.

If you think you have been a victim of this type of scam, please speak to your private banking team or Relationship Manager in the first instance. You can also contact the Private Bank on +44 (0) 1933 543 600 or the Racing Bank on +44 (0) 1933 543 543.