Volcanic ash scam

Travellers are being victimised further after volcano chaos

You've had to cancel your holiday, your flight, or you've been stranded abroad because of the volcano - either way, it's not been good. If your flight's been cancelled and the company are refusing to refund you, where do you look next? Some people have been looking in their inboxes and finding an email allegedly from the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). But in fact, it's not.

The scam starts off by the sender impersonating Frank Adam, the chief consumer protector at the CAA. And the email is aimed at everyone who has suffered financially because of the volcano disruptions. Leading weary passengers to believe that they are eligible for compensation, it says that each affected by the chaos can receive up to £2000.

So, how does the scam work? Recipients are asked to contact Frank Adam with their details, including: name, address, phone number and a photocopy of your passport. Once this has been sent, they'll then be asked to send an admin fee in return of a compensation payout. And that's the last you'll hear from them, unless you receive a cheque. Of course, this will be fake.

The CAA have confirmed that they have no knowledge of this and have denied existence of any such compensation scheme. So, the best advice is to just delete the email from your inbox if you have one.

Published by Ross Barnard on May 20, 2010