Keen to snag a holiday bargain – while avoiding scammers and anything too good to be true? Here is everything you need to know

The summer holidays are almost upon us, which, for an increasing number of Britons, means only one thing: being scammed out of thousands of hard-earned pounds. Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cybercrime, revealed in May that it had received 6,457 reports of holiday fraud in the last financial year, an increase of 41% on the previous year. The average loss was £2,372 per person, with 44% of victims in their 20s and 40s – dispelling the myth that only older people fall prey to fraudsters.

Even without the scams, holidays can be a huge expense in a cost of living crisis – and Which? reported that getaways this summer could cost up to 70% more than last year. But before you resign yourself to another summer at home, try these booking tips to outsmart the scammers and bag a great deal.