Beware the May Holiday Travel Scam: Fraudsters Pose as Tour Operators

With the long May holidays approaching, a sharp rise in travel-related fraud is targeting Russian vacation planners. According to experts from the MTS Zashchitnik service, criminals are impersonating travel company employees, cold-calling potential victims with offers of "last-minute" deals at attractive prices.

The scam follows a familiar pattern. After pitching a fake special offer to a popular destination, the fraudster sends a link via SMS to secure a "preliminary booking" with a payment. Once the victim enters their card details and transfers the money, the supposed tour operator vanishes, leaving no trace of the promised trip.

Legitimate industry professionals warn that this is not how reputable companies operate. Genuine tour operators do not make unsolicited sales calls offering trips, nor do they request advance payments through links sent in text messages. All official bookings and prepayments are processed exclusively through the companies' verified websites or established travel aggregator platforms.

If you receive such an offer, security advisors recommend ending the conversation immediately and not clicking any links. Should you fall victim to this scheme, the only recourse is to contact the police without delay to report the crime.