Clare McVey, head of travel at Cambridgeshire-based Aspire Travel, was contacted late last month by a woman enquiring after a four-night holiday at a Majorcan resort. McVey told TTG the customer was very specific, asking her to book the £2,200 stay in early April for one adult, one child and one infant.

Recalling the enquiry, McVey said she had several misgivings, most notably the imminent departure date. She was also suspicious of how the customer happened upon Aspire, which is in Cottenham, when she claimed to have been searching for travel agencies local to her.

"I asked her where she was calling from," McVey continued. "When she said Berkshire, I thought there was something strange going on as we’re nowhere near Berkshire. But then again, we post a lot on social media.”

Despite her doubts, McVey proceeded with the booking after the customer told her she was joining a relative who was already booked at the same resort. "It sounded genuine because she was looking to join her cousin who had already booked," she said.

However, McVey’s suspicions were raised once again when the customer shared different surnames for her and her children, and seemed overly eager to confirm the booking. "I told her I was going to send her a secure Bacs payment link, but when I put down the phone, I knew it wasn’t a real booking,” McVey added.

The case shares one striking similarity with an incident highlighted by Designer Travel managing director Amanda Matthews last August. TTG understands the name used by the bogus client on each occasion is very similar, differing by just a single letter.

Recounting her experience to TTG, Matthews said she was forced to concede the loss of "a few thousands pounds" after a fraudster booked a seven-night stay in Montego Bay with the agency using a stolen Bank of Ireland card.

"This client had been dealing with one of our homeworkers for a couple of months, befriending the travel agent and leading them to believe she was a known client, even though she wasn’t,” Matthews explained.

She added another fraudster subsequently tried to take advantage of the same homeworker, once again using a stolen Bank of Ireland card to book their holiday. “We saw the trend and managed to cancel that booking,” Matthews said. “It’s a criminal playground, and our industry is probably one of the easiest to defraud.”

McVey and Matthews have urged other agents to be vigilant, and shared some of their new precautions. Matthews no longer accepts bank transfers or flight-only bookings unless they are from a known client, while McVey said she would be more wary of people wishing to book straight away without questioning the price.

"Have your wits about you at all times; and if it’s someone you don’t know, then do your checks,” McVey added, telling TTG she was confident she had avoided a fraudulent booking after comparing her experience with Matthews’s.

TTG approached industry fraud charity Profit, Prevention of Fraud in Travel, for comment. Founder Barry Gooch said the charity was aware of the situation but did not wish to comment further.

Have you or has your business been the target of a scam or fraud? We’d like to hear from you. Please email igrassomacola@ttgmedia.com with your experiences, which will be treated in confidence.