Late-summer booking fraud is a volume business. Listings are cheap to create, the season is short, and the pressure to secure something for the last week of August does the persuading. The losses reported to us this month cluster around three things: villas, festival tickets and last-minute flights.
How the listings are built
Photographs are lifted from genuine listings elsewhere, sometimes with the original watermarks cropped out. The address is real but unconnected to the seller. Reviews are copied or newly farmed. The listing is priced just below the market — enough to attract, not enough to alarm.
- Conversation moves off-platform quickly, to WhatsApp or email.
- Card payment is refused: the reason given is fees, or a "direct booking discount".
- A deposit is requested tonight because someone else is enquiring.
- The account name on the bank details does not match the business.
Two checks that catch most of it
Reverse-search the images, and search the address independently: if the same property appears under a different name, or the address is a block of flats with no holiday let, stop. For tickets, check whether the event's official resale route exists — where it does, a private transfer is almost always the wrong route.
If you have paid
- Tell your bank straight away and ask for the case to be logged as a scam.
- Report to Action Fraud (actionfraud.police.uk); Police Scotland on 101 in Scotland.
- Keep the listing, the messages and the payment details.
- Report the listing to the platform so it can be removed.
- If the bank refuses, the Financial Ombudsman Service is free.
The FCA consumer helpline is 0800 111 6768 for questions about whether a firm is authorised. We describe the pattern and the free routes; we do not assess individual claims.
Named in this report
Each file gathers every warning, published contact detail and update we hold on that name.
Firm warnings published each month
98 in this window · down 17 on the month before
- 2Apr
- 1May
- 2Jun
- 4Jul
- 53Aug
- 36Sept
Counted from the warning notices in our own archive. One notice can name several trading styles.
The wider record
Counts from our own archive, for context around this report. Not an estimate of fraud across the UK.
Clone firms as a share of our Warning List archive
Clone firms copy the name or details of a genuine authorised business.
- Clone of an authorised firm17(16%)
- Not recorded as a clone89(84%)
Contact details recorded against warned firms
One firm can appear in more than one row.
Website recorded76(35%)
Website recorded: 76 entriesPhone recorded39(18%)
Phone recorded: 39 entriesEmail recorded85(39%)
Email recorded: 85 entriesNo contact details held16(7%)
No contact details held: 16 entries
Open the data page to see how each figure is counted.
How this report was made
- Updated
- 3 times
- Primary sources
- 6 sources
- Following this subject
- 0 readers
- Reader comments
- 0 comments
Checked against the published record
Action Fraud
Action Fraud holiday fraud alertsSeasonal reporting figures referenced here.
FCA
Financial Conduct Authority Warning ListPrimary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
FCA
FCA Financial Services RegisterAuthoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
PSR
Payment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursementThe reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
FOS
Financial Ombudsman ServiceFree, independent adjudication and published decision data.
Action Fraud
Action Fraud reporting serviceThe UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Sourcing. Every claim is tied to a published record — a regulator's notice, a court or ombudsman decision, or a document we hold. We quote a headline and a short summary and link the original.
Right of reply. Firms and people we criticise are put on notice before publication and their response is carried in the piece.
Independence. No affiliate links, no sponsored placements and no referrals to solicitors or claims firms. The only routes we point to are free. Read the full method · first published 16/08/2026
Trust and sourcing
- Bylined
- Editor approved
- Not flagged for review
Legal review
Not required
No individual or firm is criticised, so no right of reply was required.
Source URLs behind this report
- Action Fraud
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/news
Seasonal reporting figures referenced here.
- FCA
https://www.fca.org.uk/consumers/warning-list-unauthorised-firms
Primary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
- FCA
https://register.fca.org.uk/
Authoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
- PSR
https://www.psr.org.uk/
The reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
- FOS
https://www.financial-ombudsman.org.uk/
Free, independent adjudication and published decision data.
- Action Fraud
https://www.actionfraud.police.uk/
The UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
What changed in each update
First published 16 August 2026 at 09:00 · last updated 19 August 2026 at 11:00
Added the current free reporting routes and clarified what the reimbursement rules do and do not cover.
Payment Systems RegulatorChecked against the source record and refreshed the figures and dates in the panels. No findings changed.
FCA Financial Services RegisterFirst published.
FCA Warning List
Updates and change log
- First published
- Last updated
Added the current free reporting routes and clarified what the reimbursement rules do and do not cover.
Payment Systems RegulatorChecked against the source record and refreshed the figures and dates in the panels. No findings changed.
FCA Financial Services RegisterFirst published.
FCA Warning List
Sources for this report
- Action Fraud Action Fraud holiday fraud alerts — Seasonal reporting figures referenced here.
- FCA Financial Conduct Authority Warning List — Primary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
- FCA FCA Financial Services Register — Authoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
- PSR Payment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursement — The reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
- FOS Financial Ombudsman Service — Free, independent adjudication and published decision data.
- Action Fraud Action Fraud reporting service — The UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Sources for this report
Action Fraud holiday fraud alerts
Action Fraud
Seasonal reporting figures referenced here.
Read the original sourceFinancial Conduct Authority Warning List
FCA
Primary record of firms the FCA says may be operating without authorisation.
Read the original sourceFCA Financial Services Register
FCA
Authoritative check on whether a firm is authorised and for what.
Read the original sourcePayment Systems Regulator — APP fraud reimbursement
PSR
The reimbursement requirement for authorised push payment fraud.
Read the original sourceFinancial Ombudsman Service
FOS
Free, independent adjudication and published decision data.
Read the original sourceAction Fraud reporting service
Action Fraud
The UK national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime.
Read the original source
We link directly to the original source wherever possible. A source may update its own page after we publish; we show the date we last recorded or updated the citation.
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- Holiday booking fraud
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About the author
Daniel Okoye — Daniel covers authorised push payment fraud, payment systems and the reimbursement rules. He previously worked on a regional investigations desk.
Reader comments
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