UK flight ticket scam: Elderly couple lose £2,500 to fake Expedia booking

A Leicester-based elderly couple lost over £2,500 after booking fake Ahmedabad tickets via a WhatsApp scam posing as Expedia

An elderly Indian-origin couple from Leicester were recently conned out of a large chunk of their savings when they booked a flight to Ahmedabad, only to discover the tickets were fake. They are now publicising their experience as a cautionary tale for others.

 

Dinesh, 80, and Shashikala Jansari, 78, realised they had lost over £2,500 to an online fraud at the check-in desk at London’s Heathrow Airport.

 

In an interview with BBC Leicester, the couple described their shock and dismay after being told they had been tricked by a fake page that had moved the booking process to a WhatsApp conversation with an account dubiously named “Fly Expedia”.

   

“It was a very good deal, and the name said Expedia, which my husband had heard about. I don't know how [the scammer] got his number, but he started chatting on WhatsApp, and my husband booked with them,” Shashikala told BBC Leicester this weekend.

 

From being excited about returning to India after an eight-year gap, the Jansaris were left stranded at the airport until their son looped back in the car to collect them for a two-hour return journey to Leicester.

 

“We were in shock. I said ‘no, it can’t be’,” recalled Shashikala after being told the tickets were “fake”.

 

The scam was registered with Report Fraud and the couple also contacted their bank. But because the fraud involved a direct bank transfer, it is unlikely their money can be recovered, as some additional protections associated with credit cards do not apply in this case.

 

The couple later managed to travel to Ahmedabad, booking the trip through a travel agent in Leicester this time.

 

“Scammers are very clever. I don't know how they do it, but they use old people like us. I would advise people to ask the younger generation to help them, scammers are everywhere,” warned Shashikala.

 

She has since joined sessions run by Healthy Living at Rushey Mead Recreation Centre in Leicester, which offers anti-fraud advice such as double-checking who customers are dealing with online, using strong passwords and relying only on trusted websites.

 

Similar fraud reported in India

 

Last year, a fraud involving flight ticket bookings for London, amounting to ₹26.40 lakh, came to light when complainant Ashok Kumar from Sector 6 in Panchkula alleged that he sought to book business class tickets for his family to attend his grandson’s birthday in London in March 2025.

 

His son-in-law, Rishabh, recommended Divya Thakur from Jalandhar Cantt and her partner Gurjeet Singh, who had previously booked his tickets at reasonable rates. Divya quoted ₹3.75 lakh for three round-trip tickets and later an agreement was reached for 15 tickets (12 for Rishabh and three for Kumar’s family) for a total of ₹20.32 lakh.

 

Kumar made multiple payments, including ₹10 lakh in cash and ₹2.25 lakh via bank transfers to Gurjeet Singh’s account.

 

Despite repeated follow-ups, Divya and Gurjeet avoided calls and failed to provide confirmations. Kumar later discovered from M/s Shiba Travels that no tickets had been booked and that Divya owed them ₹50 lakh. Another friend of Rishabh’s also lost ₹15.25 lakh to Divya.

 

Kumar lodged the complaint with the DCP on April 15, 2025. A lawyer representing Divya later made partial arrangements for two tickets worth ₹88,000 and another for ₹85,000, but failed to refund the remaining balance.

 

How airline ticket fraud works

 

The International Criminal Police Organisation (Interpol) on its official website warned travellers to be wary of airline deals that appear too cheap.

 

“Think you’ve found the deal of a lifetime when you see last-minute airline ticket available for just a fraction of the usual price? Be careful before you buy, or you could wind up with no ticket and losing your money to criminals – a victim of airline ticket fraud,” said Interpol.

 

According to Interpol, this is how such fraud usually operates:

 

• Criminals use stolen, compromised or hacked credit card details to buy airline tickets

• The tickets are then offered at bargain prices via professional-looking websites or social media accounts that appear to represent legitimate travel agencies

• Fraudsters ask for immediate payment, often through cash, bank transfer or virtual currencies

• After receiving payment, they send a booking confirmation with the original purchase details removed

 

What risks travellers face

 

Interpol warned that buying tickets through such channels can leave travellers exposed to serious risks.

 

• Your money goes directly to criminals, who may use it to fund other crimes

• If the genuine cardholder reports the fraud before the flight, the airline may cancel the ticket

• If reported during your trip, you could be stranded abroad with no return ticket