Tom Powell
IT is certainly a bitter pill to swallow.
You are gearing up for a long-awaited holiday, desperate to touch down for a week in a dream Spanish villa.
And then reality hits: You’ve lost thousands of euros to a fraudster sat behind a computer.
The audacity of the con artists who prey on unwitting holidaymakers is difficult to take. And this scam is double-edged, for the owners are also being cheated out of months’ worth of legitimate bookings.
The prevailing message is a simple one; you cannot be too careful.
Call the property owner before transferring any money, check the name on the bank account, check the email address contacting you, do everything you can to ensure what could be a wonderful holiday isn’t ruined by a pathetic, cowardly criminal.
Suppose a holiday home owner was a little bent and worked in collusion with another, or even on his own. It could facilitate a fake “phishing” operation, were the owner to turn a blind eye to what is going on. That way the same periods could be “let” over and over without the owner having the inconvenience of actually entertaining guests.
Hope this doesn’t give anyone ideas…..