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“In the last few weeks of August, consumers may be looking for cheap last-minute holiday getaways for the family. However, travellers should browse with caution if the deal looks too good to be true. Data from Action Fraud found that consumers lost over £12 million to holiday booking scams last year. July and August saw the most scams, with an average loss of £1,851 per victim. With 75% of total revenue in the tourism and travel sector expected to be generated through online sales by 2029, travel platforms and consumers should take every precaution to protect themselves.

“To stay vigilant, consumers should make sure websites use ’https’ rather than ’http’ to ensure a secure connection. Further, they should thoroughly check reviews of the holiday booking website to guarantee legitimacy.

“Fraudsters’ tactics are becoming more sophisticated. The pace at which bookings are made, alongside the added pressure businesses face to confirm last-minute reservations, means fraudsters can use stolen credit card information. This leaves little time for payment details to be verified or for fraud to be detected before the trip. As a result, businesses pay the price as they have to pay for the chargeback and they lose the "inventory” as the booking has already taken place.

“There are an array of tools and tactics travel booking platforms can use to prevent unauthorised access and safeguard their customers. These include multi-factor authentication (MFA), end-to-end encryption or AI analysis tools. Not only can these solutions mitigate risk, they can also increase consumer confidence when shopping online.”