It is so easy to set up a professional looking website to take credit card payments that I am amazed that there are not more scammers on this particular game. Lack of regulation and/or proper accreditation for reservation agencies is largely to blame.

The fact that the payment may be made on a secure page (htmls with a “padlock” icon in the corner) only means that the page itself is secure – not that you’re making a credit card payment to a trustworthy company.

I would think hard before making a payment through a third party rather than direct with an accommodation provider, unless I had heard of the company and knew they were reputable.

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This really sounds like a double whammy. With all of the financial turmoil of the last year or so we are told by travel professionals that people are increasingly booking their trips on credit cards for the guarantee that provides should the provider they’ve booked with go belly up.

I think it’s really up to the credit card suppliers and banks to do something about this and supply their clients (ie the travel pros) with secure, open and trustworthy systems. Unfortunately they’re too busy trying to turn a profit again after their annus horribilis.

It really is a situation that needs addressing.

From our point of view we do get direct bookings via phone and email. These bookings are generally confirmed after an email string several messages deep and usually from repeat guests, in light of this we may well set up an initiative to only take CC details on the phone. We want to be beyond reproach.

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Darren

It not just hotel websites, all travel products are open to abuse, the only reason hotels are the target pf choice at the moment is that the regulators of other travel products have had good history of catching people. Keep in mind the last fake ATOL site which took millions, the police only moved in and made arrests after the regulators passed them completed case files, not when the complaint was made 4 months before.

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Further to my last post. This is the reason you should always check licenses with the issuer before booking….MAKE sure the valid.

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BBC is running a story today about .co.uk websites based in China selling counterfeit goods which has the following advice ….

• Searching for any user reviews of the site;
• Double clicking on the padlock symbol in the corner to reveal details about the company that registered the site; and
• Trying to connect the site to the real world by finding phone numbers or UK addresses.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8178959.stm

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@Nick
I think you are talking about the fake ABTA scam nothing do do with a fake ATOL meber
http://tinyurl.com/44fy8w

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The ability for reservations to be made remotely by the provision of credit card numbers is critical as the travel industry that relies on ease and accessibility.

In New Zealand we have “holiday voucher scams” when consumers buy dubious hotel/meal vouchers from unsolicited phone marketers based offshore. This scam is supported by a website that uses code stolen from a valid accommodation reseller site, so they appear to have arrangements with a wide selection of accommodation providers.

We also have the perennial “Hotel Scam” or “Western Union Hotel Scam” where an email inquiry is received by a motel/hotel requesting accommodation for numerous people for numerous nights and often additional services that are pre-paid via credit card. All or some of the pre-payment monies are then requested to be transmitted back via Western Union Telegraphic Transfer.

The accommodation provider realises they have been scammed when their bank reverses the initial credit card payment (sometimes many months later) after the cardholder realises that a large unauthorised transaction has been swiped from their credit card account.

Fraud is a problem, but it should be kept in proportion to the millions of valid transactions that are made on travel.

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It is definitely a problem especially in bad economic times where people trying to stretch their dollar not lose it! – My quick thoughts:

+ Regulation: Not really a solution. We maybe need to regulate search engines before regulating websites!? There was a long discussion about this on techcrunch a couple of weeks ago.

+ Consumers are more savvy than we think. At least that’s my general feeling when talking to people about their preferred booking sites. Of course scams will happen still like the one you just mentioned.

+ Consumer education – Sites like yours, Darren, helps highlight these fraud cases so the word spreads and people get more cautious. I wish you can point to the offending site at some point.

Rafik

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I would only book a hotel with a site that I trust, that my friends or family have used or has a good reputation.

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I can understand Darren’s reluctance to give the name of the allegedly fraudulent booking site, which I first brought to his attention, for legal reasons as no legal case has yet been brought against them (as far as I am aware). However, a search on Trip Advisor forums will eventually bring it to light.

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@phil

If you have enough number of complaints from TA reviewers, then that should be enough to bring it up. Of course these remains as allegations. It would be up to that site to clear their name by engaging with the community and refute all the claims.

I’d love to get more details as I can quantify how many reviewers\reviews have such experience and would be willing to share it or blog about it. You can drop me a hint on twitter @raveable

Rafik

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I use three hotel websites and always use them. I prefer to use sites with customer service numbers so if I have a problem when I get to my hotel I can speak with someone

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Hi Darren -

I don’t think the answer is to only book through well known brands, as reduced selection is rarely good for the consumer.

Instead, and as mentioned above by Rafik, I think the answer is through tighter regulation of search engine advertising terms and conditions. The types of sites you’re mentioning typically receive the bulk of their traffic through PPC campaigns, all of which only require a valid credit card to be activated.

Given the technology search engines already employ to create algorithms and track campaign effectiveness, clearly they have the resources to validate their advertisers are legitimate.

Unfortunately, there are many other advertising networks and less reputable marketing options that are available to these companies, many of which will never be able to be regulated. As such, consumers also need to be educated on how to protect themselves from predatory sites and know how to identify them.

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@ Julia, sorry I am commenting on both… both ABTA and ATOL have been targets. The link you gave was to an older case.

@ Darren, I do not think travel is any more a target than other industries. But it has it advantages and there is ways around the systems (not going to list them here, for common sense reasons) some of which have not made it into public domain. However travel is a closely monitored industry for flights and packages so what we call “extras” (hotels, car hire, and airport services) are a target.

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There is no doubt that scam websites in all industries are an increasing problem but is the solution really to regulate away all risk to consumers? As we regulate more and more areas of our commercial and day to day lives are we not making ourselves increasingly open to fraud?

If we regulate all areas of online commerce (probably impossible) will consumers just blindly trust any site because “it must be safe” rather than engaging their brains and using good old common sense.

Let’s stop relying on the government to isolate us from all risk and start using our common sense before handing over our card details to “online strangers”.

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Some of the sites in question look 100% legitimate, nothing to suggest anything dodgy. As good and professional looking as anything from the major tour operators.

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I write as a private rental property owner in Spain. I am not a big multi national, in fact this is only my second year. Whilst I realise there is a difference between multi hotel booking sites and individual websites, the fact of the matter for my service is trust. I offer credit card payments for deposit on a holiday, Paypal, personal cheque and bank transfer. At least 90% of our guest pay by bank transfer and the rest by cheque, I have never received a credit card payment, so security can’t always be the number 1 issue (although it should be). I do everything I can to make sure I am contactable by potential guests, phone numbers, email, Skype, etc and find a lot of potentials are now telephoning to ensure they are speaking to a real person and not just a made up and automated site.

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The issue, IMHO, is not regulation or anything else – it is about the powers that be (eg Merchant Service Providers – or MSP’s) – doing something about it. It is also about the Police having the “resources” – i.e. money to do something about it. These sites, along with all other (usually credit card based) scams will remain, no matter what you do, until such time as MSP’s stop simply relying on warning or advising people how to protect their cards and purchases and start pro-actiovely running the perpetrators to ground. At present, only big fraud hitters are targeted – indivduals are just not worth the time and trouble and in any event, an MSP can simply charge someone back. They are only interested in keeping their admin costs down – and issuing warnings, for them, is the most cost effective way of doing it.

How does this relate? Well, it does because what you discuss here is part of a much wider, endemic fraud culture which works on the presumption that one is born every minute AND that there is little chance of anyone taking small time fraud people to task – you won’t get caught! Even dealing with big brands is little protection. Big brands are made up of lots of little people (I don’t mean little in any sort of derogatory sense) and it only takes one rotten apple in a (very big) basket who is cloning card details. Bear in mind that having access to so many bookings – card details, name, adress – means that this could be done quite innocuously – and trying to contact someone in a big brand to take possession of any problem can be quite frustrating.

You can do some tests – such as checking the contact details (and as Mark suggests) calling them up – Do they have a proper address (on my wife’s website, we even have our photo’s!). You can, of course, book hotels the old fashioned way (as we do in business travel) that is: make reservation – give a card as guarantee (not always required and you can use a special card with a very low limit) and then pay when you leave. You do not always have to book and pay upfront for a hotel, by any means! You can deal (dare I say) with a local high street agent – on an I give you money, you give me ticket – basis.

One last thing, it works the other way around as well – hotels get scammed by people using duff cards (people try to buy stuff from my wife’s website – but we have a secret in built defence device – Can’t tell you, I am afraid – it’s, er… secret) so as you, as a consumer have concerns about your card so to, can hotels and retailers, have concerens about you as a customer!

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Well I think you have done a great job by giving us the idea of fake websites.There are a lot of sites which gives us wrong info and make us confuse so now people have to wake up and know their right.

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