Pure Holiday Homes and signs deal that aims to put an end to holiday woes

Pure Holiday Homes and signs deal that aims to put an end to holiday woes

The UK’s National Fraud Authority (NFA) is currently estimating annual fraud losses to be in excess of £3.5 billion within the travel sector – a large part of which is identity fraud.

A recent survey by GetSafeOnline.org and travel organisation ABTA on online travel sites revealed that as many as 30% of people fail to confirm the authenticity of their travel providers. Almost a quarter do not check if the website they are using is secure and 36% say they do not track their card payments after making a booking.

To combat the problem of online travel fraud, identity management system provider, holiday rental company, Pure Holiday Homes has signed a deal with GB Group to ensure the summer holidays don’t turn into summer nightmares. The deal, which will see Pure Holiday Homes implement GB Group’s identity verification solution URU, means customers can book holidays with confidence, knowing the people they deal with and the property they are booking do actually exist.

Proving veracity of homeowners

Powered by GB Group’s ID3 technology, URU helps businesses sign-up new customers faster and more effectively than any other ID verification solution on the market. By integrating URU onto its website, Pure Holiday Homes will verify holiday homeowners when they register to advertise their property on the site and confirm they are who they say they are – and as a result give holidaymakers greater piece of mind.

Pure Holiday Homes will be the first holiday letting company in the UK to mitigate the risk to the customer through the use of ID Verification services. Generally landlords do not undergo any vetting prior to placing their holiday homes online for rent; hence this sector is an attractive market for identity fraudsters.

Sean Collins, chief executive of Pure Holiday Homes, said: “Up until now companies have been treating the symptoms and not the actual cause when it comes to protecting consumers from online travel fraud, through additional services like travel insurance. Our aim is to take the risk away from the customer and tackle the route of the problem. We have been very impressed with GB Group’s technology and believe they have the best solutions in place to help travel companies address an industry-wide issue.”

Warmly received by holidaymakers

Pure Holiday Homes has commissioned its own online survey recently asking whether official identity checks on owners advertising on pureholidayhomes.com will give holidaymakers extra peace of mind when transferring money directly into owners’ bank accounts. More than half of the 1,396 respondents said this would be a crucial prerequisite when booking a holiday, with another 44% saying it would certainly provide peace of mind. Not one respondent said it is not a concern.

“This is proof of the fact that, when made aware of it, consumers rate stringent verification checks as a fundamental requirement when booking a holiday, despite few of them currently verifying owners’ authenticity,” added Collins. “However, it is a great indicator of the need for online verification – and evidently in the value we will be offering our customers following the implementation of GB Group’s ID3 technology.”