Bogus Holiday Scams Alert

Holiday or travel scams is one of the most costly scams, according to the reported, the average victim losing more than $5,200, how they work? You're handed a scratch card and discover you have won a free holiday. You have to attend a presentation to collect your prize. The presentation is usually at a swanky hotel, with glossy brochures and posters all adding to the air of authenticity.

After committing yourself you will suddenly find that your 'free' holiday has a lot of extra costs, such as transport and other less obvious but nonetheless 'compulsory' extras. Be especially wary of presentations that ply you with unlimited alcohol or offer special discounts that only last that day, and withstand the pressure to sign anything until you have taken the information away with you to study in your own time.

Generally, a genuine holiday clubs will allow their customer to look over a contract before signing it, while bogus holiday clubs will pressurise hopeful holidaymakers into signing on the dotted line, without reading through everything properly.

What usually holiday and travel scams look like?

If somebody promises you a break from the old routine, at a fraction of the normal cost, of course you’ll be tempted. There are some genuinely good deals on holiday and travel and scammers know it. Whether you’re buying holiday vouchers, booking accommodation online, or sorting out a visa for your trip, it pays to do your homework. Make sure holiday and travel deals are genuine, so that you don’t end up disappointed.

Types of holiday and travel scams:

Fake holidays or accommodation
You’re planning your overseas holiday. You find some great accommodation that seems very reasonable. You send them an email to make a reservation, and are asked to pay by a money-wiring service like Western Union. You start to get worried when you haven’t received confirmation of your booking. You do a search online and find that several people have been caught out by the same scam.

Free vouchers or holiday dollars
You received overseas call centre congratulates you – you've "won" a holiday pacakege. You’re given a run-down of where you can go, and the hard-sell on what an incredible deal this is. You’re promised a holiday, flights or accommodation worth thousands of dollars. All you have to do is pay a nominal fee.
You’re asked for your credit card details (including the security number on the back) and told that you’ll receive some vouchers. The vouchers arrive and you discover they’re worthless. You realise that you’ve been scammed and that the scammers now have access to your credit card to use as they please.

Major events
Scammers will often take advantage of major events like the Olympics or the Rugby World Cup.  The spike in demand these events create makes for rich pickings. It's a good idea to be particularly alert to potential scams if you are booking travel or accomodation for a major event.

Fake visas
You’re travelling overseas and need to organise a visa. You do an online search and find a good helpful and looking site that’s in the featured listings. Great! You fill in your details and pay by credit card.

How to protect yourself from holiday scams?

• If somebody calls you about a holiday voucher scheme, ask for the details of the hotels or airlines that are involved. Contact the hotel or airline directly to check whether the offers are real, remember to use the telephone numbers from a trusted source, not ones given to you by the person who has called you. If the hotel or airline is part of a voucher scheme, ask for the telephone number of the company that sells their vouchers. That way you can give the company a call to make sure that the person who phoned you is legitimate.
• Before taking up a holiday or travel offer, run an online search using the company name, followed by "scam". If it is a scam, you may find reports from other people.
• When searching for holidays and travel online, check out any company's contact details before you make a booking. Try the best to get through to their customer services number. If you send them an email, is their response in broken English or in any way suspicious? Is there a contact address? When you do an online search, is it listed as the business address of any other companies?
• If you've been trapped by a holiday and travel scam, and have paid using your credit card, contact your bank to see if you can claim a cashback.
• Be wary if any companies that ask you to pay using a money wiring service like Western Union.

If you've been affected by a holiday or travel scam, you can report your scam at consumeraffairs.govt.nz