Holiday

We may not be able to go anywhere just yet (until at least 4 July) but coronavirus-related holiday scams are already popping up.

There are now three new holiday scams to look out for, according to UK Finance, which have popped up as a result of the current lockdown and travel restrictions.

Top of the list is the caravan scam where con artists advertise bargain mobile homes for sale that don’t actually exist. The seller then claims that the sale needs to be completed without the buyer seeing the caravan first due to social distancing measures.

Consumers are also being tricked into handing over their money or bank details by fraudsters pretending to be holiday firms offering refunds. These can come in the shape of phishing emails, fake social media accounts and spoofed calls.

Finally, with holidays back on the horizon, scammers are once again using non-existent getaways to target Brits. These can be too good to be true holiday deals or fake rental home websites.

The Take Five to Stop Fraud campaign has more details on each of the scams and the things to look out for.

Last month I wrote about some of the scams that are specifically related to coronavirus. These are, sadly, still relevant.