HOLIDAY HALF-TRUTH
As if times aren’t bad enough for travel firms, some are being targeted by a brazen fraud.
An Instagram site called everythi ng_half offered stays at UK resorts for half price.
Customers didn’t have to pay anything until they arrived and were happy with the accommodation.
They then paid everything_half by bank transfer, which had paid the resorts in advance. But it had done so with stolen credit card details, which the resorts had to refund when the payments were flagged up as fraudulent.
Everything_half has now disappeared from Instagram along with the money it raked in, but other accounts with similar names and holiday offers have sprung up, including everything_half_price_mcr.
One venue hit by this was Landal Gwel an Mor in Cornwall, which lost £7,500 in a week. “This type of scam at this time is another blow to our industry,” said resort director Matt Way.
“We are all trying to recover from being closed, so losing revenue this way has a big impact on the businesses involved.”
The scam was made easier by coronavirus measures that meant guests didn’t have to visit reception to check in and were instead sent details of how to access their accommodation online.
The crooks also only offered last-minute bookings, so they’d get paid by the guests before the unauthorised credit card payments were spotted.
Mr Way says they have now put in extra security measures and spread the word about the scam, “making it our mission to warn the other holiday businesses listed on this site too, all well-established names in travel, spanning the country”.
This type of scam at this time is another blow to our industry