Sun seekers looking to book their summer getaway are being warned to look out for fraudulent deals, as new data released today shows victims lost a staggering £12.3 million to holiday fraud last year.
Action Fraud is urging people to use strong passwords and 2-step verification after receiving thousands of reports about hacked email and social media accounts.
Large community and religious WhatsApp groups are being targeted by scammers who infiltrate these groups to deceive their members into sending them money. Action Fraud confirm they have received 268 reports since January this year.
Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, has today published new data showing that in the last financial year, it received 6,457 reports of holiday fraud, amounting to over £15m lost.