Neil Mewes, owner of Avocet Travel Management, came up with the idea of starting the closed group on the social media platform for the travel industry after his agency was approached by a fraudster last week.

Mewes told TTG the fraudster had called the agency on Friday (16 January) claiming to work for an oil company and then tried unsuccessfully to book accommodation using stolen credit card details.

“Fortunately, we spotted the fraud,” he added. “But it got me thinking – there are lots of Facebook pages about fraud but not one key area for the travel industry to go where everybody can post and see what’s happening.

“Fraud isn’t common but you do hear about it. You have to have your wits about you – even more so now when agents need to get money and earn commission.”

Mewes said he spoke to his local police force in Surrey and also Action Fraud, the UK’s national reporting centre for fraud, before deciding to launch the Fraud in Travel Facebook group.

“We want to encourage agents and other travel companies to post their experiences of fraud to act as a warning to the rest of the industry,” he added. “If we can just stop one fraud that would be good.

“Some agents might not want to talk about it. But it’s not a weakness, it’s positive that we’ve spotted it and can warn other agents.”

Mewes hopes that if the Facebook group “takes off” over the coming months it will allow an analysis of the tactics fraudsters are using to target the travel industry.

“If we can see what patterns there are, then it can help stop cases of fraud,” he added.

Agents can apply to join the closed Fraud in Travel Facebook page through this link.