How to spot holiday scams before you book: 13 checks

Hello, and welcome to the money-safety corner. Booking a holiday should feel exciting, not like an exam, so please don't worry. Grab a cuppa and we'll walk through the warning signs together, so your money goes on sunshine and not on a fraudster's sunshine.

Sunday, 9.40pm, early November. Priya is on the sofa scrolling Instagram when it appears: a four-bedroom villa in Lanzarote, private pool, sea view, Christmas week, half the price of everything else she's looked at. "Only two dates left! 15% off if you pay by bank transfer within 24 hours."

She turns the laptop towards Grace. Grace, still in her work fleece, reads it, says nothing, then asks one question: "Whose name is the bank account in?"

Good question. Report Fraud figures show 6,066 reports of holiday fraud in 2024 and £11,183,957 lost, an average of £1,844 per victim. ABTA, the travel trade body, says fraudsters focus on places and times of year when demand is high and availability is limited, because that's when people hunt hardest for a deal. Here are the 13 scams Priya and Grace checked for, and how to beat each one.

Fake places, fake deals

1. Check the villa really exists

   

   Report Fraud warns that scammers steal photos of real hotels and apartments from other travel websites and pass them off as their own. Get Safe Online suggests finding the property on Google Maps, looking for independent reviews and phoning the owner or agent directly. Priya found "her" villa on a big booking site under a completely different name.

2. Don't book straight from a social media post

   

   Posts or ads offering unbelievably good holiday deals are one of Report Fraud's red flags. Our advice: don't click through from the post. Search for the company yourself and read what other people say about it first.

3. Read the web address letter by letter

   

   Action Fraud said cloned comparison, airline and holiday websites were among the most common holiday frauds, with the web address changed so it looks genuine. ABTA says to check for small changes, such as .co.uk becoming .org. Got a dodgy deal by email? Report Fraud says you can forward it to [email protected].

4. Check the flight booking with the airline

   

   Report Fraud says some people only find out at the airport that they're not booked on the flight they paid for, and Action Fraud reported fake confirmation emails and booking references. ABTA says a genuine booking shows full flight details and a PNR (Passenger Name Record), the reference for your reservation, which you should check. Our tip: check it on the airline's own "manage booking" page, using an address you typed yourself.

   Try saying (to the agent): "Before I pay the balance, can you send me the airline booking reference so I can check it with the airline?"

5. Hang up on the cold call that knows you've been searching

   

   Action Fraud has warned about fraudsters cold calling people who had recently searched for flights, possibly because they typed their details into a bogus site, and offering a deliberately low quote. Never give card or personal details on a call you didn't start. Hang up and contact the company using details you found yourself.

Fake protection

6. Check the ATOL number yourself

   

   Action Fraud reported fake websites using duplicate or made-up ATOL numbers. The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) says you should get an ATOL certificate as soon as you pay anything towards an ATOL-protected trip, and its Check an ATOL tool confirms whether a business holds a licence. One thing to know: ATOL only applies if your travel company stops trading. It doesn't cover cancelled flights.

7. Verify the ABTA logo

   

   A logo is only a picture, and anyone can paste one onto a website. ABTA says to check membership on its own ABTA Member search before you book. Len from next door, who once lost money to a "timeshare buyer", has a rule: "If it takes ten seconds to check, check."

8. Turn down the "discount for bank transfer"

   

   Report Fraud says being asked to pay by bank transfer or cash is a warning sign, because it's hard to trace and usually not refundable. ABTA says never pay directly into a private individual's bank account. Pay by credit card if you have one: Report Fraud says most major credit card providers protect online purchases. Back on the sofa, the 15% "discount" suddenly looked very expensive.

9. Keep messages and payments on the booking site

   

   Get Safe Online advises keeping all messages and payments on platforms like Airbnb, because being tempted off the platform may be a sign of fraud. Our advice: if a "host" or "hotel" sends a link asking you to pay again or re-enter card details, don't use the link. Contact the property through the booking site or with details you already trust.

Paperwork and "helpful" strangers

10. Use the official passport and visa sites

    

    ABTA warns that official-looking websites charge an extra fee for visas while adding nothing of value. Go to the official government site instead. For UK passports, ABTA says that's gov.uk/apply-renew-passport, and GOV.UK's foreign travel advice lists each country's entry requirements.

11. Say no to the "free bonus holiday"

    

    Report Fraud describes fraudsters contacting timeshare owners to say they've been "awarded" a bonus holiday, claimable for an upfront fee, then pressuring them into upgrades that don't exist. Len read the brochure twice, frowned at it three times and put it in the recycling.

12. Ignore anyone offering to get your money back for a fee

    

    Report Fraud warns that people who've already been scammed may be contacted again by fraudsters who say they can recover the money, and says to hang up on these callers. If you're helping an older relative with this, our guide to protecting older parents from phone scams has the phone settings and family rules that help.

    Try saying: "No thank you. I'll speak to my bank directly." Then actually do it, using the number on the back of your card.

13. Lock down your email

    

    Action Fraud warned that if your email is hacked, a criminal can see your holiday booking details. Report Fraud's advice: protect your email with a strong password made of three random words, different from all your other passwords, and switch on 2-step verification wherever it's offered.

    In the end, Priya and Grace booked a real villa, found independently, paid by credit card, with an ATOL certificate in the inbox. Len has asked to see the photos. He wants to check the pool exists.

Holiday scams at a glance

Source: Report Fraud, Holiday fraud, Timeshare and holiday club fraud and Bank account fraud; ATOL news, 24 February 2025 (2024 figures); Action Fraud campaign, May 2023; ABTA, How to avoid travel-related fraud; Civil Aviation Authority, What is ATOL?; Get Safe Online, Holiday (all read 11 November 2026).

Before-you-book checklist

• I've found the property or company independently, with a map, reviews and its own phone number.
• Its ABTA and ATOL details check out on ABTA's and the CAA's own websites.
• I'm paying by credit card, not by bank transfer to a person, and staying on the booking platform.
• My email has its own strong password and 2-step verification.
• I've bought travel insurance as soon as I booked, as GOV.UK advises, and read the FCDO travel advice for where I'm going.

If you think you've been scammed

• Call your bank or card provider straight away, using the number on your card or statement.
• In England, Wales and Northern Ireland, report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or on 0300 123 2040. In Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101.
• If the company claimed to be an ABTA member, tell ABTA too. To pass on information anonymously, ABTA points to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.
• Be wary of anyone who then offers to recover your money for a fee. That's a second scam.

Your turn: what's the most suspicious holiday "deal" you've ever been offered? A yacht for £40? A castle with "flexible" payment? Tell us in the comments (no personal details, please), so someone else can skip it.