As the Government considers further easing of restrictions, fraudsters gear up to target the public with ticketing, travel and health insurance scams.

After months of lockdown, and a difficult year of restrictions, it is understandable that consumers are looking to book much-needed social activities. However, Action Fraud has issued a scam alert on the back of their Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign.

Fraudsters are a step ahead of consumers as they advertise holidays and tickets at low prices or for sold-out events, thereby illegally profiting from consumers who are looking for deals or wanting to attend fully booked events. There have also been cases of scammers charging victims for the new – free – Global Health Insurance Card (GHIC) and advertising fake ‘vaccine certificates’.

Protection from scammers

Action Fraud has published some sound advice to protect consumers from scammers. Below is a summary:

• be suspicious of any “too good to be true” offers or prices
• book directly with an established hotel or through a reputable travel agent that is a member of a trade body, such as ABTA or ATOL
• access a website by typing it into a web browser rather than clicking on unsolicited emails or social media posts
• use secure payment options; don’t accept a request to pay via a bank transfer
• use a credit card when booking holidays between £100 and £30,000 to receive protection under Section 75 of the Credit Consumer Act

Read the full Take Five to Stop Fraud advice here.

Can we help?

If you are worried that you are a victim of scamming, please contact us on 01392 278612 to discuss how we can carry out investigations into potential scammers.