Turn detective to spot a holiday booking
COMPANIES behind internet search engines are being urged to do more to end the misery of holidaymakers duped into paying thousands of pounds to bogus travel booking firms – but there are steps you can take yourself to spot and avoid a scam.
Fake websites are sprouting up almost daily and appear on search engines like Google when unwary travellers tap in popular destinations in their hunt for a summer getaway.
Families looking for the perfect villa in the sun assume their search has produced listings of authentic lettings companies and often follow instructions to book directly with the owner of their chosen property.
But on closer inspection an increasing number of these websites are fake.
Many are convincing copies of genuine websites, often put together by scammers using images and adapted wording culled from genuine travel firms’ web pages. These can be combined with photos of professional people from random websites around the world who are presented as holiday property owners or agents.
HOOKING HOLIDAYMAKERS
ONE way fraudsters can achieve immediate high positions on search engine listings is by taking part in ‘pay per click’ campaigns where the engine company makes a small charge to show adverts above the natural website searches.
Tap in ‘villa holidays’, for example, and many legitimate companies appear. But in among these lurk bogus websites that have also signed up.
Nick Cooper, co-founder of longestablished villa rental firm VillaPlus, has made it his mission to unmask fraudsters. He says: ‘Fake villa holiday websites are being given a helping hand by multibillion pound companies who should be doing more to help tackle fraud.’
He adds: ‘Web hosting companies also refuse to close down fake websites, without an expensive court order or police intervention, despite being shown clear evidence of fraud. Meanwhile, these fake companies can run major ad campaigns, appearing high up on Google searches for months before finally being stopped.’
In a statement Google said: ‘We have a set of policies which govern what ads we do and do not allow. These policies make it clear that we do not allow fraudulent or misrepresentative websites. If we discover websites that are breaking this policy, we quickly take appropriate action.’
TRAVELLERS also need to be wary that fake websites often hook them in with worthless booking guarantees promising refunds in the event someone chooses to cancel. Feeling reassured, bookers pay the rental by bank transfer. But the cash is usually withdrawn as soon as it has landed in the fraudster’s account – which is usually based abroad.
HUNT FOR CLUES
THE Mail on Sunday carried out a reverse image search on a picture of apparent property agent Alexios Panagakos featured on bogus website greekvillaescapes.com. This is the website that tricked readers Julie and David (not their real names) out of £6,000 in a case featured last month. The photo is in fact that of an executive from an insurance firm in the US, which appears on his LinkedIn profile.
To do a reverse image search, first click on the photo and then right click on the option ‘search Google for image’. Results will appear showing pictures that are visually similar as well as listings for pages that include the exact same photo.
Some fake websites flip the stolen photos of properties in a bid to prevent internet image searches exposing the fraud. As this paper reported earlier this month the scourge of bogus websites is increasing as the summer holiday season looms closer.
A report by the City of London Police revealed a 20 per cent leap in reported holiday frauds in 2016 with more than 100 people a week losing on average in excess of £1,200 each. The figure is likely to be far higher as victims are often too embarrassed to report they have been tricked.
After reading our reports, reader Mark High feared the worst for a booking he and his wife Kerry had made less than 36 hours previously. Mark discovered to his horror that they had been scammed out of
£4,532 after booking a villa in Tenerife through sham website Canaries Holiday Villas – a website Nick Cooper warned Google about more than a month earlier.
The couple have arranged villas previously online without a problem – and always paid by bank transfer rather than credit card so did not suspect crooks were at work. He says: ‘We discovered the villa was real but is only available through genuine agency James Villas that had already rented it for our dates. We realised then we had been conned.’
The Highs, from Lincolnshire, contacted their bank HSBC immediately. But the call centre told them there was nothing that could be done. The Mail on Sunday intervened and HSBC took a fresh look. After contacting the receiving bank in Dublin the bank managed to retrieve the couple’s money.
Gas engineer Mark says: ‘We were disappointed with HSBC for fobbing us off and are sorry that it took The Mail on Sunday to make them act. But we are overjoyed they did the right thing and we can now take our children on holiday as planned. It was supposed to be a treat for us all after my wife’s mother died and left us some money. The children were so upset when they thought it wouldn’t happen.’ The couple came forward because they ‘do not want this to happen to other families’.
MORE ACTION NEEDED
CRITICS believe both internet search engines and banks need to take more comprehensive action to protect customers.
Martyn James, of consumer complaints website Resolver, says: ‘Fraud works because the fraudsters are clever, manipulative and convincing.’
He adds: ‘While banks aren’t responsible for the actions of fraudsters, they do have an obligation to their customers to do all they can to get their cash back the moment they are told there is a problem. Suspicious transfers should not take place immediately and warnings about transferring money to strangers could easily be given in person or online.’ Meanwhile, payments firms are debating how to combat bank transfer fraud and industry group The Payment Strategy Forum is proposing a ‘confirmation of payee’ system. This aims to help people avoid sending payments to the wrong account, either by accident or being tricked into doing so – by ensuring confirmation of the recipient is sent to the payer before funds leave the original account.
A spokesperson for Lloyds Bank says it will always try to retrieve the funds if asked in a process that can take 28 days.
She adds: ‘Where customers are delayed in reporting, the chances of obtaining a full recovery are low.’
Julie and David heard last week that their quick action following reading our warnings meant the bank has managed to retrieve the majority of their lost £6,000.