Each year, scammers target unsuspecting holidaymakers, swindling them out of millions of pounds.
As technology becomes more advanced, scams are becoming more elaborate and harder to spot.
Not only are people losing substantial sums of money, but many holidays are being ruined, with people unable to afford a replacement.
According to Action Fraud, travellers lost a total of over £11million to holiday fraud last year, with people losing an average of £1,844.
It comes as security experts say modern-day scammers use advanced technology such as artificial intelligence to trick travellers out of their money and sensitive personal data.
‘Cybercrime is a business, and just like legitimate businesses, cybercriminals are really focused on maximising the returns,’ said Steve Grobman, chief technology officer at McAfee, an online protection company, per the Washington Post.
‘They’re using technology to optimise their victim-conversion rates, things like AI to find victims who are more likely to fall for scams.
‘And they are making the scams more relevant or scary to their victims.’
According to Action Fraud, travellers lost a total of over £11million to holiday fraud last year, with people losing an average of £1,844
Grobman claims that cybercriminals will go after younger, thriftier travellers with cheap travel deals while luring older, wealthier tourists with luxury trips.
They will prey on their victims through social media or by text, email or phone.
‘The scammers know what generation you are and focus on the things that will resonate with you,’ Grobman said.
Scammers often pretend to be affiliated with an established organisation and will pressure the person to act immediately or risk missing out.
Reports showed 6,066 incidents of holiday fraud last year, with July being the most active month for reports, according to Action Fraud data.
Holidaymakers lost a combined total of £11,183,957 in 2024, which is comparatively less than the £12.3million lost in 2023.
Despite the drop in reported losses, the average loss per victim remains at similar levels, with £1,851 the average in 2023 and £1,844 in 2024.
It comes as travel association ABTA has warned travellers to use their instincts: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
Scammers will often use forms of payment with weaker consumer protections than credit cards.
The ABTA guidelines advise never paying directly into a private individual’s bank account and checking the web address is legitimate and has not been altered by slight changes to a domain name.
Scammers can also use your social media posts to scam you.
Grobman said cybercriminals don’t need a location or hotel name to know your whereabouts. To craft a personalised scam, they will use technology to determine your vacation spot based on your social media post.
‘If you think you’re being careful because you’re not saying where you are, artificial intelligence can help the scammers identify exactly where you are, even down to the restaurant or the hotel,’ he said.
Then they can use that information to create a scenario that becomes a lot more believable.’
For this scam, the guest might receive an email, text or WhatsApp message from the hotel, notifying them of an unpaid charge.
ABTA has warned travellers to use their instincts: If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is
Scammers will stress the importance of sending money as soon as possible.
Grobman said the link might be authentic, to avoid detection, but the phone number could be fake.
To avoid falling for this scam, the general advice is to call the hotel directly and ask about any unsettled invoices.
British travellers should report scams to Action Fraud, the UK’s national fraud and cybercrime reporting centre.
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