From fake bookings to the ‘trouser pat’ that tells pickpockets where the cash is: The devious tricks scammers and thieves use against holidaymakers – and how to avoid being a victim

• A total of £4.6m was lost in holiday scams between May and August last year
• READ MORE: The top 10 places in Europe Britons most want to go on holiday

British holidaymakers are being urged to be vigilant for travel fraud, which cost victims millions last summer.

Fresh calls for tourists to stay alert have come after a total of £4.6million was lost between May and August alone and more than 6,450 reports of holiday fraud were made across the financial year, costing more than £15million or an average of £2,372 per victim.

To make sure the equivalent totals are much less this year, Wizz Air travel expert Andra Rado has revealed the top scams to look out for and a devious strategy pickpockets use to discover where tourists keep their cash.

Scroll down for Rado’s advice on thwarting scammers and the safest destinations to consider for a break. 

Fake bookings

British holidaymakers are being urged to watch out for travel scams, which cost victims a total £4.6million last summer

Rado says: ‘Criminals are creating clones of websites like Airbnb and Booking.com and advertising deals and offers on social media.

‘The links, offers, and websites look real, so you think you’re giving your payment details to the legitimate sites.

‘You’ll often receive a confirmation email of your booking, so you won’t suspect anything until you try and check-in for your flight, or even arrive at your hotel, and they have no record of your booking.’

The travel expert advises holidaymakers to ‘always be careful with links that come from social media’ and says ‘cloned sites will be very difficult to detect.’

He adds: ‘There might just be a small change in the URL from the original site that you don’t notice when clicking on a link.

‘Verify the offers you’re seeing are correct by manually typing in the legitimate websites address and going through there.’

Pickpocket signs

Rado says: ‘Keep valuables separate from each other so pickpockets can’t get everything in one go and keep bags in front of you rather than behind you’

‘Pickpockets often lurk in areas that have signs warning you of their presence,’ Rado warns.

‘When you see a sign saying “warning: pickpockets operate in this area”, your first instinct is to pat your pockets that contain your valuables like your phone and wallet to make sure they’re still there – but this shows thieves exactly where to look.

‘Keep valuables separate from each other so pickpockets can’t get everything in one go and keep bags in front of you rather than behind you.

‘Be especially careful on public transport as it’s very easy for people to grab things and jump off the train before you’ve even noticed anything is missing.’

Bracelet scam

‘The bracelet scam is common in markets and on beaches,’ Rado says. ‘Scammers approach tourists and put a friendship bracelet on you, often tied so that the only way they can be removed is by cutting them’

‘The bracelet scam is common in markets and on beaches,’ Rado says.

‘Scammers approach tourists and put a friendship bracelet on you, often tied so that the only way they can be removed is by cutting them.

‘They then demand you pay for the item that they’ve given you, whether you want it or not – and not only do you have to give them money for an item you didn’t want, but it can also often be a technique used to pick your pockets while you’re distracted.’

He adds: ‘Say a firm “no” if someone tries to give you anything in the street, and never let anyone put a bracelet or necklace on you, no matter how friendly they seem.’

Intercepting Twitter complaints

Rado says: ‘People often tweet companies with complaints about things like lost luggage, and criminals have started to use this to scam people.

‘Using fake customer service Twitter handles, they respond to complaints asking for contact details, and claim that they need to pay for their lost luggage to be sent to them – of course, the luggage never arrives, and they may even ask for more money, claiming that further problems have delayed it.

‘No airline would ask for money to be sent in order to return lost luggage. Make sure you get in contact with official customer services with complaints, and to report scams like this.’

Fake petitions

This particular scam is common in ‘highly touristy cities’, according to Rado who explains: ‘You’ll be approached by someone or sometimes a group of people with a clipboard asking you to sign a petition.

‘They’re betting on you not being fluent in the language, and can keep talking until you agree to sign, without really knowing what it is – but then they ask for a cash donation.

‘They can sometimes be aggressive, demanding that you give them money for their cause, and this can often be a distraction technique to pick your pockets while you’re trying to saying no.

‘Just keep walking if someone approaches you asking for signatures, be firm and say no, and keep an eye on your belongings.’

Overcharging taxis

‘One of the most common places to get conned when travelling is in a taxi with scammers claiming that the meter is broken and making up a huge figure when you get to your destination, or the meter going up much faster than it should,’ Rado warns

Rado says: ‘One of the most common places to get conned when travelling is in a taxi, with scammers claiming that the meter is broken and making up a huge figure when you get to your destination, or the meter going up much faster than it should.

‘They’re assuming that you don’t know how much the ride should actually cost so they can charge you as much as they like, so make sure you ask your hotel or a local for a rough idea of how much you should be paying.’

Rado stresses that it’s ‘not all doom and gloom’, though, and highlights the most scam-free destinations.

He says: ‘There are many destinations that people claim to feel the safest in, such as Malaga, which has recently been ranked as the second safest city in Spain.

‘And a recent study revealed that Budapest, Reykjavik, and Vienna are among the top safest cities in the world, particularly for solo travellers.’

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