Joe Duggan (Reporter)
AN in depth investigation by the Olive Press into bogus holiday rental sites has been followed up on national TV in the UK.
It comes after a second fraudulent site we uncovered last issue, Spain Vip Holidays, has now been taken down from the internet.
Another site Digital Dreams Holidays was earlier removed as a shakedown costing British tourists millions each year continues to claim victims.
According to figures from the London’s National Fraud Intelligence Bureau there were almost 6,000 reports of online booking fraud last year, with 3,542 cases related to accommodation, costing British tourists €7.2 million.
Following our reports, ITV Tonight ran a half hour prime time investigation into the scams involving rental of luxury properties.
In total, around 10% of Brits have been hit by holiday scams, according to the programme.
Fake websites uncovered by the Olive Press, such as Rent Holidays Villas, Balearic Villa Escapes and Digital Dreams Holidays were all featured on the show.
However, despite the continued coverage of the scandal, other sites, many of which are hosted by US provider GoDaddy, are yet to be removed.
Last month, we revealed how British holidaymakers renting luxury villas were being conned out of thousands of euros.
In one of the worse cases, a party of eight adults including England rugby star Dean Schofield lost over €40,000 after trying to rent a Mallorca house.
