A third of travellers have seen an increase in potential travel scams on social media, prompting consumer experts to urge holidaymakers to conduct amateur detective work before booking summer accommodation. The warning comes as research shows scammers are targeting peak travel season with fake holiday homes, flights, and tours.
Scams on the rise as holidaymakers book late
Consumer experts advise using a reverse image search on holiday home photos and checking locations on an online map to verify authenticity. Many people are booking in a hurry this year due to uncertainty from the Iran war, increasing the risk of falling for online or telephone scams. Some travellers affected by flight cancellations and delays at the start of the conflict have already been scammed.
Scammers often copy photographs from legitimate websites and request bank transfers. George Ralchev, head of risk at payment service provider emerchantpay, which commissioned the research, said holidaymakers are being targeted by social media scammers “looking to take advantage of the peak travel season.”
Survey reveals widespread concern
According to an Opinium survey of 2,000 UK adults conducted in May, seven in 10 people are wary of promotional holiday emails due to scam risks. Two-fifths of holidaymakers changed their behaviour while on holiday because of financial safety concerns. Half now prefer booking with online or high street travel businesses that clearly explain how they protect consumers from fraud.
One woman who lost £6,500 trying to book a Greek holiday villa told the Guardian she begged her bank to halt the money transfer but was told nothing could be done.
How to avoid scams
Emerchantpay recommends researching to confirm a destination exists, seeking independent reviews, and checking website links. Holidaymakers should also verify if the company is a member of Abta, the UK travel trade association, and check if package deals with flights are covered under the Air Travel Organisers’ Licensing (Atol) scheme.
Lisa Webb, consumer law expert at Which?, said the findings are “sadly unsurprising” and reflect the group's own research that social media firms are “failing to take meaningful action to tackle the flood of scams on their platforms.” She advises booking through trusted channels and avoiding bank transfers for social media ads. Anyone who suspects they have lost money to a holiday scam should contact their bank immediately and report it to Report Fraud or Police Scotland.
Booking.com and Expedia incidents
Separate Which? research from summer 2024 and spring 2025 on Booking.com reviews found hundreds of complaints about paying for non-existent accommodation. Booking.com said cybersecurity is a top priority. Expedia customers were also targeted in 2024.
