Travel Weekly columnist Maureen Hill has uncovered fraudsters targeting agencies in the West Country.
The Gillingham-based Travel Angels consultant received a phone call from a man requesting flights and accommodation for the next day. She later received an email from another man asking for flights to Accra in Ghana five days later.
Maureen became suspicious when both customers accepted the first price she offered and refused to provide a landline number. She called the police and passed on the passport details and credit card details provided. The credit card company later confirmed her suspicions that the card had been stolen.
“I had been given advice by the fraud squad to look out for people who asked for obscure destinations and seemed happy to pay any price, so the alarm bells started ringing,” she said.
“It looks like fraudsters have set their sights on the West Country and I would be interested to know if any other agencies have had the same experience.”
- Maureen: Just call me fraud-buster…
- More on fraud at travelweekly.co.uk/fraud