Mecca fraud warning for Muslims
Police in Greater Manchester have launched a campaign to tackle fraud related to Hajj.
Thousands of Muslims make the pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia each year and many will book their travel arrangements over the coming months. Action Fraud - the fraud reporting centre - was informed about 49 cases of Hajj fraud from April 2015 to last month.
The average loss was over ÂŁ2,600 and Greater Manchester is one of the hotspots for offending but detectives believe the extent of the problem is much worse than the reported cases.
Officers are engaging with their local Muslim communities in a bid to raise awareness of fraud and the campaign is being supported by the British Council of Hajjis, travel association Abta and Atol, a financial protection scheme from the Civil Aviation Authority.
People booking package trips with flights for Hajj this autumn are advised to make sure the company is covered by the Atol scheme to offer protection against losses if it goes bust.
They are also warned against paying by cash or direct bank transfer into an individual's account, to get everything in writing and to check flight details, accommodation and Hajj visas are valid.
Mark Rayner, Atol's head of compliance, commented: It is really important that anyone looking to travel to Mecca this September as part of a Hajj pilgrimage looks beyond the price, checks that the travel business has Atol protection and ensures they receive an Atol certificate once they pay any money towards their trip.''
Hajj is the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the birthplace of Islam.
PL