According to the article “Sun, Sea and Scams” one in ten Brits will become a victim of a scam while on holiday this year. With this in mind, the Foreign and Commonwealth Office have stressed Brits who are victims of such scams should report the incident to the local police in order to gain an incident report. Following on from this incidence, should you intend to claim on your travel insurance, your insurance company will require official report information.
Holiday scams can come in all shapes and sizes according to this recent article, whether your taxi driver takes you along the scenic route instead of the crow’s flight cheaper option or the timeshare ‘epidemic’ takes hold.
The resorts of Europe are of particular cause for concern because traditionally, out of the Brits who have holidayed there, twenty one per cent of visitors/holidaymakers have been conned in the past five years. As discovered in a recent poll by the travel insurers LV, the average amount of money that has change hands through these criminal dealings is equal to £250. The insurance company were able to surmise the worst culprits for conning British tourists were Spain, Turkey and France. Calling all Brits on holiday in Spain… beware! Out of all the countries in Europe you could be conned or scammed, Spain is the worst.
Backpackers need to be on their guard when visiting certain countries in Europe as research revealed that one in five backpacking holidaymakers were the targets of scams. Does this mean that lone travellers are the worst at risk from a scam artist? No! Even travelling in a couple is not in itself a means to avoid the con artists that work the European resorts. Forty three per cent of people conned on holiday were in fact couples.
If you are horrified by these statistics, you could be further shocked by the fact that these figures are based on incidences reported to the police. It is common knowledge that not all holiday crime is reported to the police and estimated that only one in ten victims do report their scam to the police.
Scamming is much more rife than statistics initially reveal. All Brits who are not holidaying at home this year and about to go on vacation to Europe should check their travel insurance is completely right for their trip. Additionally, ensure that you do report any crime (no matter how small it seems) to the police so that your insurance company can pay out on the claim without delay.