Travel scams rise by 900% in 18 months, says Booking.com

Marnie Wilking is the company's online safety chief and says phishing scams in particular are becoming increasingly prevalent.

Transcript

00:00We all know to be wary when buying something online. There's always the risk of being scammed

00:06at the back of our minds. When it comes to large purchases like booking a holiday, it's

00:10particularly important to be on our guard. But one of the world's largest online travel

00:15agents, Booking.com, is warning potential holidaymakers that online scams for breaks

00:19have risen by 900% in the last 18 months, driven by the rise in artificial intelligence.

00:26Marnie Wilking is the company's online safety chief and says phishing scams in particular

00:30are becoming increasingly prevalent. Scammers use AI tech to trick people into handing over

00:35their financial information by mimicking legitimate emails better than ever before. It means that

00:40scams can now be harder to detect, with travellers being urged to be ultra-vigilant. Ms Wilking

00:45is now urging hotels and the like to use two-factor authentication, adding an extra layer of security

00:51protection and calling it the best way to combat phishing and credential stealing. When

00:55experts are advising travel providers to minimise the risk to their customers as best they can,

01:00we're also being asked to brush up on what to look out for to help us avoid scams.