Black Friday and Cyber Monday are two of the busiest weeks of the year for holiday bookings, and fraudsters know it just as well as the genuine operators do. Fake comparison sites, copied hotel listings and too good to be true prices all spike around the big sale events. The reporting system behind it all has also just changed. Here's exactly how the scams actually work, the genuine checks that catch them out, and where to report one now that Action Fraud has become Report Fraud.
None of this should put anyone off a genuine Black Friday holiday deal, there are usually some good ones about. It just pays to know what you're actually looking at.
Cloned comparison sites and fake listings almost always undercut the genuine price by a significant margin to get you to click and pay quickly.
Scammers regularly lift genuine hotel photos and reviews to dress up a fake listing or a cloned website that looks convincing at a glance.
Action Fraud closed and was replaced by a new service called Report Fraud, run by the same City of London Police team, with the changeover completed by January 2026.
Which? reported in August 2026 that holiday scams stole £11 million from Brits in 2024 alone, across more than 6,000 reports, an average loss of £1,844 per victim. That's not a new problem either. Action Fraud, before it became Report Fraud, logged 6,640 reports of holiday fraud in 2023, with victims losing a combined £12.3 million, an average of £1,851 each, and July and August were the two worst months that year for reports. ABTA's chief executive Mark Tanzer has made the same point every year since: fraudsters target popular destinations and busy times of year, and victims often only discover the fraud just before they travel or while they're already away.
Black Friday and the January sales rush add another peak on top of the usual summer one, because the entire pitch of a flash sale is urgency, which is exactly the environment a fake deal thrives in. Which? also flagged a genuinely striking figure from NordVPN's own research: during February's peak booking period, NordVPN found around 40 new fraudulent Booking.com websites appearing every single day, with Airbnb the second most impersonated travel brand. AI is making these cloned sites noticeably more convincing than they used to be.
If a deal looks significantly cheaper than everywhere else for the exact same hotel and dates, treat that as the first warning sign, not a stroke of luck. Message me the link or a screenshot and I'll tell you honestly whether it's genuine, usually within minutes.
Which?'s research points to a handful of genuinely recurring patterns, rather than one single type of scam.
Reverse image search any accommodation photos you're not sure about using Google Images or TinEye. If the exact same photos turn up attached to a completely different property or a different country, that listing isn't genuine.
This is the genuinely new part for this year. Action Fraud, the UK's fraud reporting service for England, Wales and Northern Ireland since 2009, has been replaced. City of London Police, who ran Action Fraud throughout, launched its successor, Report Fraud, in December 2025, with the wider public rollout continuing into January 2026. The old site was widely criticised as hard to use and slow to respond, and the new service was built with three stated aims: reduce the burden on victims, give clearer advice and reassurance, and generate richer intelligence that every police force can actually access.
The practical details that matter if you ever need to use it: report online at reportfraud.police.uk, the old actionfraud.police.uk address now redirects there automatically. The phone number is unchanged, 0300 123 2040. You'll still get a crime reference number and updates by email or post, and you can still report fraud on behalf of someone else. Scotland isn't covered by the new service yet and is expected to join sometime in 2026, so for now people in Scotland should keep reporting to Police Scotland on 101. A suspicious website itself is also worth reporting separately to the National Cyber Security Centre.
If you've already paid and think you've been scammed, call your bank first using the number on the back of your card, before you do anything else. Time matters for getting a payment stopped or reversed, then report it to Report Fraud once you've made that call.
None of these take more than a couple of minutes, and together they catch the vast majority of fake deals before any money changes hands.
Ask me to check a deal before you pay rather than after. I can confirm whether it's genuinely from the operator it claims to be, and genuinely the price advertised, and more often than not I can get you a better one anyway.
| If this happens | What to do |
|---|---|
| You've paid and now suspect it's a scam | Call your bank immediately using the number on your card, then report it to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk or 0300 123 2040 |
| You've spotted a suspicious holiday website or advert | Report it to the National Cyber Security Centre and to Report Fraud, even if you haven't paid anything yet |
| You're not sure if a company is genuine before paying | Check it directly at abta.com's member search and atol.org/check-for-atol before you hand over any payment details |
| Your booking is with a company that's gone out of business | Check whether you're ABTA or ATOL protected first, this is a separate situation to fraud, and covered properly in our guide to what happens if your travel company goes bust |
A good Black Friday holiday deal genuinely exists most years. The only real shift needed is treating an unusually cheap price as a reason to check a little further, rather than a reason to rush.
Honestly, the simplest protection is booking through someone who'll actually pick up the phone. Message me the deal you've seen this Black Friday and I'll tell you straight away if it's genuine.
Which? reported in August 2026 that holiday scams stole £11 million in 2024, across more than 6,000 reports, an average of £1,844 per victim. The year before, Action Fraud logged 6,640 reports and £12.3 million lost, an average of £1,851 each, with July and August the worst months. Black Friday and the January sales add another spike on top of the usual summer peak.
Action Fraud has been replaced by a new service called Report Fraud, run by the same City of London Police team, launched in December 2025 with the wider rollout continuing into January 2026. Report online at reportfraud.police.uk, which the old actionfraud.police.uk address now redirects to automatically, or call 0300 123 2040, the number hasn't changed. Scotland is expected to join the new service sometime in 2026 and should keep reporting to Police Scotland on 101 until then.
Use ABTA's own member search tool at abta.com, and check ATOL protection directly at atol.org/check-for-atol by searching the company name or ATOL number. Never rely on a logo displayed on the company's own website, since that can simply be copied onto a fake site.
By credit card wherever possible, since it gives you added protection under Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act for purchases over £100 and up to £30,000, protection a bank transfer or debit card doesn't automatically offer. Be especially cautious if you're ever asked to pay into a private individual's bank account.
A price that's noticeably cheaper than everywhere else for the exact same hotel and dates, pressure to book immediately, a website that's very new or has a slightly unusual address, and accommodation photos that turn up elsewhere when reverse searched. Any one of these is worth checking further before you pay.
Send me the link or a screenshot before you pay anything. I'll tell you honestly whether it's genuine, and what it should actually cost.