A building society is urging people to be alert to the risk of being scammed out of their holidays.
Nationwide points to fake ads on holiday websites or someone online pretending to be a booking agent from a legitimate company. In many cases they will try to move the customer away from the genuine holiday websites and will try and get people to make the payment to an individual rather than a company via bank transfer.
New research for the building society, suggests that more than half (58pc) don’t know or aren’t sure on how to check if a travel agent, tour operator or holiday booking is legitimate or not. Adding to the risk of being scammed is the fact that close to a third (32pc) would rush into booking a break without checking thoroughly to make sure they got the deal – potentially leaving them vulnerable to unscrupulous scammers, the building society comments.
According to the poll of 2,000 people by Censuswide over the new year, four in ten (40pc) view booking a holiday as a priority in January because they either want to plan ahead (42pc) or need something to look forward to (40pc).
While booking agents, travel agents and airline websites remain the most popular places to look around for a holiday, one in seven (14pc) search for their holidays on social media sites such as Facebook Marketplace and Instagram, while one in five (20pc) use Airbnb to book. Four in ten (40pc) have had holiday adverts appear on their social media feeds, while one in five (20pc) admit to getting direct messages on social media advertising a holiday. A minority, 44 per cent of people do research after seeing a ‘limited-time deal’ appear online. Around a quarter (26pc) admit to going into their holiday search not worrying about anything when it comes to potentially being scammed.
When booking a holiday, the building society advises that it’s paid for in a secure manner in case of scams by paying by credit or debit card. Those cards come with protections, including Section 75 and Chargeback. According to the poll, four in ten (40pc) would use their credit card to pay, while a third (33pc) would use their debit card. However, six per cent also admit they’d pay for a holiday with cash and one in 20 (5pc) would choose to pay by bank transfer – both of which are less secure and offer less protection.
Nationwide encourages any customers concerned about a purchase to use its Scam Checker Service before making any payment. It is available in branches or by calling a 24-7 freephone number (0800 030 4057). If the payment goes ahead and the customer is subsequently scammed, unless Nationwide told the customer not to proceed, they will be fully reimbursed.
Jim Winters, Nationwide’s Director of Economic Crime, said: “January is primetime for booking holidays as we want something to look forward to – whether time in the sun or snow. However, that age old adage of ‘if it looks too good to be true, it probably is’ most certainly applies with holidays – do your research and if in doubt get support. Our Scam Checker Service is completely free and for the sake of a few minutes on the telephone it could mean you’re not getting conned out of your hard-earned money and deserved time away.”
