Durham Operator Warns of New Incidence of Old Scam

5th October 2009

Categories: What's New

A Durham self-catering operator is warning other accommodation providers to be on the alert for a  new incarnation of an old scam.

He received a booking enquiry for a seven day booking purportedly for four 'newly ordained' Greek priests attending a religious conference.

Once the availability was confirmed, the 'organiser' of the trip requested that a 50% deposit was to be taken from credit card details to be forwarded.  In addition he requested that an additional £5,000 was taken from the card and passed on to a translator for translation services during the stay, as she supposedly didn't have credit card facilities.

In fact this is a scam.  A booking is made and details of a stolen or faked credit card are forwarded.  The accommodation provider is asked to take a hefty deposit for their own services, plus additional monies for other services such as car hire, transfers etc, to be deposited by cash, BACs or other transfer.  The scam is used by gangs to either launder money, or simply to steal money without actually having to process the stolen or fake card themselves. 

Accommodation operators are warned to be on their guard and under no circumstances make additional charges over and above those for their own services, as this can make them an accessory to laundering..  They should be aware that the liability for such payments is likely to rest with them, and that credit card companies may seek restitution.

Advice from Northumbria Police

This scam has been around for a long time, and can involve cheques, cards or wire arrangements and be conducted by fax, letter or email.  Sadly, if someone does fall for the scam there is very little that can be done.  Once the 'balance' is transferred it can be wired out of the country in less than fifteen minutes to obscure accounts in out of the way countries, making it almost impossible to investigate.  Don't respond to odd or unusual enquiries asking for bank details or offering unusual payment options. Take care not to accept payment over and above the cost of your services as this can involve you in fraud, laundering or, as in this case, make you the victim of a scam.  If you do lose money, contact your local police and report it.  But be aware that with the best will in the world, there is little in reality that they can actually do. 

What to do if you think you are being scammed

1.  Don't act on the email/letter/fax etc and avoid replying to anything you think is fake.  Don't give out any of your own bank details.

2.  Check the following sites if you suspect a scam, to see if you can find details of existing scams similar to yours:

• North East England Fraud Forum www.northeastfraudforum.co.uk/fraudprevention
• Metropolitan Police Fraud Pages www.met.police.uk/fraudalert/index.htm
• The Financial Services Authority Money Made Clear scam pages www.moneymadeclear.fsa.gov.uk/scams
• Trading Standards scam site www.ripofftipoff.net

3.  Contact your local police, if you think the scam is serious or threatening, or you have lost or are about to lose money.

4.  Contact the North East Fraud Forum if you think the scam is new (most scams are variations on very old themes) so they can circulate it within our region and to others.  Email northeast.fraudforum@btinternet.com

5.  Let us know at the Toolkit if the scam is geared towards tourism businesses, so we can alert others and let them know what's currently being attempted.  Email: toolkit@onenortheast.co.uk.

For more information:

• see this page at the Internet Watch Foundation: www.iwf.org.uk/public/page.20.19.htm

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