Holiday booking scams have gone up by a fifth, costing UK holidaymakers £7.2 MILLION

Thousands of British holidaymakers are being ripped off, with the number being fleeced by booking scams rising by almost a fifth last year, according to new figures.

There were 5,826 reported cases of scams in 2016, up 19% on the previous year, according to the UK’s national fraud and cyber crime reporting centre ActionFraud.

The average victim lost £1,200 last year – totalling £7.2 million – with the most common scams relating to airline tickets, online accommodation bookings and timeshare sales.

More than a quarter of people (26%) said the scams had a significant impact on their health or financial wellbeing, while 259 were left needing medical treatment or at risk of bankruptcy.

The figures were released as part of a campaign by fraud prevention group Get Safe Online, travel trade organisation Abta and City of London Police to warn people of the dangers of holiday booking fraud.

Sporting and religious trips are a popular target for conmen due to the limited availability of tickets and subsequent higher prices and fraudsters are setting up bogus accommodation websites, hacking into legitimate accounts and posting fake adverts online.

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Holidaymakers are also losing thousands of pounds by booking flights and not receiving genuine tickets, with flights to Africa and the Indian subcontinent targeted last year.

Action Fraud says reports of travellers being swindled have consistently risen over the past five years.

Abta chief executive Mark Tanzer said: “Abta is regularly contacted by members of the public who have been caught out by increasingly sophisticated travel-related frauds.

“We know at first-hand that the loss and shock of finding that your flight or holiday accommodation has not been booked can be very significant.

“Follow the tips we have put together in partnership with the City of London Police and Get Safe Online to avoid falling victim and to make sure your hard-earned money goes towards your holiday and not lining the pockets of an unscrupulous crook.”

Tony Neate, of Get Safe Online, said holidays are “the perfect opportunity for cyber criminals to swindle unsuspecting victims out of their hard-earned money” and urged people to do as much research as possible about the organisation they book through.

“By booking in haste, you could not only risk losing a huge amount of money, but also disappoint family and friends when it comes to that long-awaited escape,” he said.

(Top picture: PA)