Fresh warnings issued amid rise in travel scams

Fresh warnings issued amid rise in travel scams
By admin


The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission have issued new warnings for consumers to watch out for travel scams amid a surge in complaints reported this year.

ACCC reports 1650 complaints about travel scams have already been lodged this year, with around $100,000 reportedly lost through fraudulent trade, mostly conducted over the phone.

According to the commission, many complainants were offered holiday vouchers to the tune of $2000 or $3000, while others were sold fake holidays to the Bahamas or Florida including tickets to theme parks or cruises at discounted prices.

 “While you are making plans for a hard-earned break, scammers are plotting to steal your hard-earned dollars,” ACCC deputy chair, Delia Rickard said.

The ACCC warns scammers could be privy to holiday searches made online, highlighting the source as a potential target.

“Watch out for these fraudsters cold calling and announcing that you’ve won a travel prize, ranging from discount accommodation vouchers to whole holiday packages. To redeem the prize, you will be asked to provide personal information such as your credit card and drivers’ licence details before they can send it to you,” Rickard said.

“Sometimes scammers will provide authentic-looking tickets and itineraries but when it comes time to travel, these documents are useless and the business cannot be contacted.”

The alert comes after scammers were reportedly found to be using fraudulent phone messages from Qantas and Virgin advising targets they had won a travel prize or credit points toward holidays, but before doing so must hand over credit card details. 

Email the Travel Weekly team at traveldesk@travelweekly.com.au

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