Tourists scammed online begin class action

[Whitey]

Over the past 18 months, tourists have wired millions of dollars into accounts with London-based Barclays Bank to pay for luxury accommodation in dream destinations around the world. The vacations are booked through popular holiday rental websites including HomeAway and FlipKey, which is mostly owned by TripAdvisor.

However, the Barclays Bank accounts are run by criminals who, after hacking the sites and ''phishing'' the original email inquiry, assume the identity of the property owner and steer customers into making bogus bookings.

The internet is awash with blogs and forums where victims recount how they booked holiday accommodation and travelled overseas, only to discover the property owner had never heard of them. [smh.com.au...]

[incrediBILL]

Let's get this straight, people too stupid to verify they're doing a legit business deal want to sue someone because they aren't bright enough to validate business transactions and get proper confirmations.

Perhaps I'm just jaded having grown up with an Uncle who was a con artist and I can smell a scam a mile away. How people let guys like Bernie Madoff take their millions I'll never know because anything that sounds too good to be true... Thanks to Uncle Con my radar is always up when it comes to money.

Of course this is a bit different but if I were doing a big wire transfer I'd probably call Barclay's Bank and verify who the account holder was before making the transaction and when they gave me a different name, end of deal.

Not that I haven't had a lapse of judgement or moment of weakness over the years and came close to clicking a link that would've infected my computer, accidents happen and I'm not perfect, but as a general rule radar is engaged and due diligence is always done before the cash ever leaves my bank.

[piatkow]

Of course this is a bit different but if I were doing a big wire transfer I'd probably call Barclay's Bank and verify who the account holder was before making the transaction and when they gave me a different name, end of deal.

I believe that the case will hinge on due dilligence, or lack of the same, by Barclays when opening the accounts. UK banks are obliged to make customers jump through hoops to open an account.

There is a long history of cases of this type and banks have been found liable in the past if it was found that they failed to show proper dilligence in managing an account. (A lot easier in the days when a manager could know all his customers but the courts then expected correspondingly more care)