New Holiday Scam Alert

As the summer holiday season approaches, cybercriminals are finding increasingly sophisticated ways to target travellers. Authorities in Andorra are warning about a growing scam known as the “Reservation Hijack Scam.” The scheme is particularly alarming because scammers are using real information about upcoming trips. Following data breaches affecting several travel booking websites, criminals have gained access to customers’ personal details, including the hotels they booked, travel dates, and sometimes even the amount paid. Armed with this information, fraudsters contact victims by email or text message while pretending to represent the hotel or travel agency. The message often claims that there has been a problem processing the payment and that urgent action is needed to avoid cancellation of the reservation. Fearing that their long-awaited holiday could be disrupted, some travellers follow the instructions provided and enter their bank card details on a fake website. The result can be devastating: stolen money and compromised financial information. What makes this scam especially dangerous is how convincing it has become. Thanks to artificial intelligence, fraudulent emails and text messages are now professionally written, free of spelling mistakes, and closely resemble genuine communications from hotels and booking platforms. You may think this all sounds very obvious but… ✔️ Never share your banking details in response to an unexpected email, text message, or phone call. ✔️ Avoid clicking on links contained in suspicious messages. ✔️ Carefully check website addresses, as scammers may alter just one letter in a URL to make it appear legitimate. ✔️ If you have any doubts, contact your hotel or booking platform directly using official contact information. ✔️ Keep copies of payment confirmations and booking receipts. Your holiday should be a time to relax, not a time to deal with fraud. As online scams continue to evolve, staying vigilant has become an essential part of travelling safely.

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