Credit card scam targets travellers and agents

Consumers risk losing money by booking international flights through unlicensed individuals using press advertisements to lure travellers and travel agents into credit card scams, the Irish Travel Agents Association (ITAA) has warned.

Mr Brendan Moran, chief executive of ITAA, said a number of travel agents had lost money through a stolen credit card scheme last year and he believed similar fraudulent schemes were taking place again this year.

Under these scams, an individual advertises holidays in international destinations, including some US cities, for competitive or discounted prices in newspapers. When consumers ring the number provided, they book their holiday with the individual but are told not to send any money until they receive their tickets. The individual then buys the tickets from a travel agent at the full price using a stolen credit card and asks the agent to post the tickets to consumers' addresses in their names.

"They then say: 'Here's the tickets, give me the money.' So they have the money, the consumers have the tickets and they go on holiday. It could be a month later when the travel agent notices the credit card has bounced," explained Mr Moran.

The travel agent is then left "carrying the can" for the full value of the ticket.

Mr Moran said these schemes had occurred infrequently over the past few years but not every travel agent had reported such losses to the association.

If the travel agent spots the credit card fraud before consumers go on their holidays, they will naturally cancel the tickets. In these cases, consumers will be the ones left out of pocket.

"The consumer is absolutely unsuspecting of the problem. There is a danger that their tickets could be cancelled before they travel and, in that case, they would have no comeback," said Mr Moran.

"My advice is at all times deal with reputable travel agents for your international travel. Be wary of the too-good-to-be-true offer," he said.

ITAA is advising member travel agents to ask customers they do not recognise over the phone to sign credit card authorisation forms in person. Mr Moran said ITAA hoped to discuss fraud problems with credit card providers in the near future.