Mum loses £500 in caravan holiday Facebook scam

Nicola Smith found the caravan she had booked was already being used

A mum says she was scammed out of hundreds of pounds when booking a caravan holiday through Facebook.

Nicola Smith, 34, drove from Nantwich, Cheshire, to the holiday park near Rhyl, Denbighshire, but found the caravan she had booked was already being used by somebody else.

The mother of four said she paid £500 to a private individual she met on on the social media site for a week-long stay in an eight-berth caravan.

Meta, which owns Facebook, has been approached for comment, but a spokesperson previously said it does not allow "fraudulent activity" and that it investigates "accounts brought to our attention".

Nicola Smith and her four children had to sleep in the car

"When I realised it was a scam, I felt sick to my stomach," said Ms Smith, who then had to sleep in the car with her children overnight as all hotels in the area were already booked up.

"I had to keep the engine running all night to keep warm," she said. "I was sad for the children and [it was] so frustrating," she said.

The single mum travelled to the caravan site on 17 August for the family's first holiday in two years, but while trying to get the caravan's key from the lock box found "the code didn't work".

"The lights were on and we looked through the window and there were suitcases in there," she said, adding that she spoke to reception who called the caravan owner "who said they'd never heard of me".

'Gut instinct' something was wrong

Ms Smith said that when she first booked the caravan she had a "gut instinct" that something was wrong, and that she called the site before paying the deposit.

She said she was told the owner of the caravan had the same name as the one given to her by the Facebook user, and transferred them money via PayPal.

An exchange of messages shows the Facebook user reassuring the mum that nothing is amiss, even sharing "caravan insurance documents" and denying being scammers.

"It's understandable that the caravan park confirmed the name of the person since the con artist had this info," Ms Smith said.

The day after arriving at the caravan, Ms Smith said she spent an additional £439 for a hotel booking for two nights so her children could go to the beach.

"It was our first holiday in two years. It took me a long time to save up for the holiday with the cost of living and I've got four children," she said, adding that she felt "heartbroken".