'He lost £8,000': Stamford & Rutland residents warned of holiday scams

Holidaymakers across Stamford and Rutland are being warned to think twice when booking their next trip away.

It comes as more of us fall victim to cheap fake holiday advertisements, designed by scammers looking to take advantage of the cost of living crisis.

Alan Gorrell, from Rutland, has been working in the travel industry for over four decades. He says one of his clients got scammed through a cloned version of a trusted holiday booking site:

'I knew the owner of the villa this client thought he had booked, and they didn't have any booking for this guy. He lost about seven or eight thousand, by making a reservation through a cloned site.'

How to avoid being scammed

Mr Gorrell said there a few top tips for holidaymakers to consider when making their next purchase:

'You can't trust reviews, because anyone can get reviews - you could produce 100 in a day, or pay a company and they'll make them for you.'

'You can look on their social media, to see if the company has an account and how long it's been operating.'

'Many of the scammers will say they don't accept credit card because of the costs, but it's because they want bank transfer.'

'If the company has a credit card facility, then for sure it's a verified business because the banks check.'

Hear all the latest news from across the UK on the hour, every hour, on Greatest Hits Radio on DAB, smartspeaker, at greatesthitsradio.co.uk, and on the Rayo app.