'I died inside – I had fallen victim to a scam'

Natasha paid hundreds of pounds to a scammer whilst trying to find a holiday let

Natasha Shek said she "died inside" after realising she had been scammed, just a week before she was due to go on a family holiday in Cornwall.

She had found an advert on social media and made ID checks on what she thought was the owner of the property, before paying him a deposit of £280.

But it turned out he did not own the property and she and her family were left with nowhere to stay. "It was sickening," she said.

Action Fraud is warning that at this time of year, when people are looking for cheap holidays, criminals will be seeking to take advantage.

Ms Shek, a single mother from Lingfield in Surrey, said she had spoken on the phone to a man who said he owned the property.

She asked to see his ID and a utility bill for the property, which he provided, before she paid a deposit, with the rest to be paid on arrival.

Then closer to the time of the holiday, she said the man stopped responding to her messages.

"I suddenly died inside, because we had a week to go and we had nowhere booked.

"My heart sunk and I just felt so disappointed with myself. It was the fact I had fallen victim to a scam."

Natasha reported what had happened to the police, and managed to get her money back from her bank, before booking alternative accommodation.

But, holiday scams can be a lucrative industry for fraudsters, experts say.

Sam Kirkwood from Dorset was turned away from a property he thought he had booked

Two years ago, Sam Kirkwood from Poole in Dorset said he was planning to celebrate his 30th birthday by going to an England cricket match.

He said he saw tickets advertised online from a seller in Cardiff.

"I found what looked like a genuine place, it had some good reviews on the website, on Booking.com.

"It was only when we knocked on the door and somebody answered that the guy said: 'You're like the third people this week who have come here'."

He said Booking.com refunded all the money Mr Kirkwood had paid, including £100 in extra costs he had incurred finding somewhere else to stay.

The firm told the BBC, the booking was cancelled due to the partner closing their property on the platform.

They say have now processed the refund for the price difference of the alternative property.

Last year Booking.com warned that artificial intelligence (AI) was driving an explosion in travel scams, with an up to 900% increase in cases in 18 months.

Action Fraud figures show a significant rise in holiday scams with 6,457 reports in 2022/23 with losses of over £15.3 million, compared with 4,244 cases in 2021/22 with £7.3 million being lost.

Clive Phillips, from Kent Trading Standards, warns that scammers can try to dupe people during big purchases, like holidays

Kent Trading Standards says scammers are using social media or clones of reputable travel websites to dupe people.

Scammers are often advertising deals "too good to be true", says Clive Phillips, a Trading Standards manager.

"People sometimes don't realise they've been scammed until the last minute."

Mr Phillips told the BBC about an incident where a man had bought flights to India to see his family, but when he arrived at Heathrow Airport, "his flight just didn't exist".

Sarah Broadbent, the Founder of Swallowtail Hill, said photos of her properties were used on a fake site

Sarah Broadbent from Beckley in East Sussex runs a glamping business and discovered some of her properties were being shown on a scam site, which has since been shut down.

"This site was named after one of my properties. They had featured images taken directly from my website.

"I had a huge number of people contacting me via social media to query what they had seen as a deal online that seemed to be too good to be true," she said.

"To have some person trying to rip me off is really despicable."

'I felt very stupid'

Ali from Kent, who did not want to give his full name, said he tried to book flights from a travel agent he found online.

After giving his credit card details, he later realised hundred of pounds more than he had been expecting had been taken from his account. .

"They seemed very genuine with all the details about the flight times and luggage allowance," he said.

"They had trained how to lure people into cheap deals, which were half the price of other airlines."

Ali has had the money refunded by his bank.

"I felt very stupid not checking the website or the numbers beforehand," he added.

Det Supt Gary Miles, Head of the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau at the City of London Police, said: "We know that at this time of year, people will be looking out for the best holiday deals and this means criminals will be seeking to take advantage.

"Before booking a holiday online, make sure you do your research and only use official or well-known holiday booking websites – look out for the ABTA and ATOL logos before clicking," he said.

"Stay vigilant when using online marketplace or social media platforms when looking for a holiday deal - those offering a cheaper or unrealistic price could be criminals intent on stealing from you.

He advised paying with a credit card and to avoid paying by bank transfer.

"Make sure you report any adverts on social media platforms or online marketplaces that look suspicious," he said.

Action Fraud says scammers often copy logos and website designs.

The organisation is urging customers to check directly with ABTA or ATOL for a company's details and use those when contacting them, rather than numbers included in online adverts.