Online holiday scam warning
16-Jan-2012 - Tourists are falling foul of increasingly sophisticated holiday property scams, a travel chief has warned.
Visitors to the UK should be particularly careful about bogus holiday accommodation in London up to and during the Olympics, said Laurence Hicks, director of holiday rentals company CLC Leisure on Sunday.
"We are hearing a lot of nightmare stories about unsuspecting holidaymakers who have booked rental accommodation, paid their airfare and arrived at the address, only to find that it is occupied by the owner and has never been available for rent," he said.
"This type of scam has been around for a while but is now becoming much more sophisticated.
"At one time there was simply no holiday. Now fraudsters are producing very stylish ads and websites featuring photos of real, very attractive properties in desirable locations. They even have telephone numbers that you can call for information and verification."
Mr Hicks continued: "The fact is, however, that photos and details have been copied, probably from an estate agent's website, the telephone number is disposable and there is no property for rent.
"While this type of scam mostly involves properties in the US, it is becoming increasingly prevalent in Europe, including the UK.
"Visitors to the UK should be especially careful about bogus holiday accommodation in London leading up to and during the Olympics.
"Remember the maxim - if it seems too good to be true, it probably is."
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