Travel agents are being warned of the latest travel scam – an email asking the agent to book flights from Lagos, Nigeria, with a credit card.
Anti-fraud campaign PROFiT chairman Barry Gooch advised agents to ignore any such emails and urged them to remind colleagues and staff to do the same.
“These guys are relying on the fact that, at this time of year, travel companies often bring in short-term workers who may be less familiar with procedures. Unless you are a specialist inbound travel company with systems in place to check the authenticity of the sender, and a way of ensuring that you will not be the subject of a fraud, frankly, it’s not worth the risk,” said Gooch.
The most important piece of advice the police offer is: do not reply.
More on travel fraud
- How to spot email scams
- Travel Weekly’s travel fraud page
- Join TW columnist Maureen’s anti-fraud group