New scam that targets travellers is on the rise, here's how it could affect your next holiday

A new email scam has caught out thousands of holidaymakers as travel agents become a new target for hackers. The latest scam is believed to have cost UK travellers £56.7 million in 2021, according to UK Finance.

The new ruse is a kind of invoice fraud committed by email hackers, which preys on small businesses like travel agents, conveyancing solicitors and building firms and is almost impossible to detect.

Travel invoice fraud

Cyber criminals are hacking into the business email accounts of holiday agents and monitoring messages only to intercept at the crucial moment when you believe you are sending payment for your trip. Instead, the money goes to a rogue foreign bank account where it is unlikely to be recuperated.

One unfortunate victim of the scam was Tim Moore and his extended family. They planned to scatter his mother’s ashes on the Caribbean island of Montserrat and so he contacted a local holiday lettings agent and made a booking. However, once the price was agreed, a hacker intercepted the email exchange and convinced Moore to pay $5,000 (£4,040) to an account where it was never seen again.

Jenny Ross, editor of Which? Money said the scam is becoming increasingly common, as per The Guardian:

Sadly, we’ve seen cases like these in all manner of transactions, from people paying for services like building work, through to rental payments and home purchases.

If an email account has been hacked it can be difficult to spot, particularly if the scammer is closely imitating the writing style of the legitimate communications you’ve received.

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Season of scams

Since March is the month when people rush to book summer holidays abroad it has also become the season of scams as hackers also rush to cash in on holidaymakers’ enthusiasm for a good deal.

In this case, Moore had an ongoing email exchange with the genuine agent and when the question of price came up that was when the hacker inserted himself into the conversation. The fake messages appeared to come from the agent’s email address and were written in an identical style and tone.

The only real clue that perhaps something was amiss was an email that contained a gentle inducement to pay everything up front. The email, again apparently from the genuine agent, offered Moore a $400 discount if he paid the full cost of the booking immediately instead of the $2,000 deposit previously agreed. The deal seemed feasible and Moore accepted and received a confirmation email of his payment. It was only weeks later that he realised he had been scammed.

Payments to foreign banks generally fall outside of the reimbursement model and so he was unable to receive a refund from his bank. If Moore had paid into a UK account, he would have been quite likely to receive a refund.

These types of scam are evidently extremely difficult to spot but it is worth being wary of even the slightest type of inducement to pay quickly and also be cautious of sending money to banks overseas where you may have less payment protection.

If you’ve fallen victim to this kind of fraud one of your options is to lodge a claim with the Financial Ombudsman Service. Whilst it can’t demand the return of your funds from overseas, it can look at whether your bank acted appropriately and took the necessary steps to warn you of the risks.

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Sources used:

- The Guardian 'Invoice fraud: the latest tactic of gangs out to hijack your holiday'

- UK Finance ' 2022 HALF YEAR FRAUD UPDATE'

- The Sun 'The travel scams that are costing Brits thousands each year – and how to avoid them'