Marnie Wilking is the company's online safety chief and says phishing scams in particular are becoming increasingly prevalent.
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00:00We all know to be wary when buying something online. There's always the risk of being scammed
00:06at the back of our minds. When it comes to large purchases like booking a holiday, it's
00:10particularly important to be on our guard. But one of the world's largest online travel
00:15agents, Booking.com, is warning potential holidaymakers that online scams for breaks
00:19have risen by 900% in the last 18 months, driven by the rise in artificial intelligence.
00:26Marnie Wilking is the company's online safety chief and says phishing scams in particular
00:30are becoming increasingly prevalent. Scammers use AI tech to trick people into handing over
00:35their financial information by mimicking legitimate emails better than ever before. It means that
00:40scams can now be harder to detect, with travellers being urged to be ultra-vigilant. Ms Wilking
00:45is now urging hotels and the like to use two-factor authentication, adding an extra layer of security
00:51protection and calling it the best way to combat phishing and credential stealing. When
00:55experts are advising travel providers to minimise the risk to their customers as best they can,
01:00we're also being asked to brush up on what to look out for to help us avoid scams.