A new fraudulent scheme to get a free vacation in hotels in Turkey was developed by tourists and unscrupulous lawyers. True, according to tradition, these workers, under the covenants of Ostap Bender, perfect their craft in Great Britain. If earlier the topic for tourists’ claims was poisoning in hotels and the corresponding collection of fines, now the main reason for compensation claims has become injuries allegedly received in the hotel and even bedbugs.
It will be recalled that earlier an organized fraud with “free rest” for “tourists poisoned in the hotel” was launched. Tourists were “caught” by representatives of law firms specializing in this business literally near the plane’s ramp. Moreover, the claims were made mainly by tourists from Great Britain, and the victims were hotels in Turkey and Spain. And the sums were quite large – for example, in one high-profile case, 8 tourists managed to cheat Spanish hotels for almost 1 billion.
The “relatively fair money grab” was run by Elite Project Marketing SL, whose creators, brother and sister Mark Cameron and Laura Joyce, were primarily involved in persuading tourists to file bogus poisoning claims against the hotels where they stayed. Six tourists who took part in the scam also appeared as accomplices in the case – we note that they pass as accomplices. Three hotels were among the victims. And the total amount that the fraudsters cheated is 9.6 million pounds.
Turkish hotels, which also suffered from fraudsters, were even forced to develop a special “Safe Tourism” system. “Fraudsters often claim that he had food poisoning without a doctor’s report. In this case, the hotel must provide documentary evidence. Analyzes provided by hotels are of great importance,” the expert said. If a customer claims to have been poisoned, the hotel must provide all evidence that its products were fresh and safe. The system also included “documentation” from the tourist himself. “The security system is not limited to analysis. We will check all camera footage and social media accounts of the tourist who complained of food poisoning. If there are records showing that he danced beautifully, went to the pool, and had fun on the days when, as he claimed, he was poisoned on vacation, they will be presented to the tour operator and the court,” the experts explained.
Considering all the hard work will come in handy — now fraudsters are trying to get financial funds, complaining about injuries in the hotel. “I got up from my bed in the room and slipped,” was the subject of complaints at a seminar held in London by the Association of British Travel Agencies and Tour Operators (ABTA). “Fraud activity that used to be carried out with claims of ‘poisoning’ is now carried out with a claim of ‘injuries received in the room,'” it said. The number of fraudulent claims about bedbugs in the room also increased. “With this in mind, the judicial authorities should use the decision of 2018 that false accusation are also a fraud,” the British experts emphasized.