Travel with Katie Butler: Beware of passport renewal fraud

Katie Butler writes: This week we are hearing of passport application scams.

Scammers are very quick to leap on an opportunity to take advantage of uncertainty and upheaval and with delays around passport renewals it appears that con artists are using sophisticated and convincing scams to persuade victims they are offering a 'fast track' passport service.

Trading Standards chiefs are warning that scammers are taking advantage of the ongoing Passport Office strike to trick people into making bogus passport applications.

The Chartered Trading Standards Institute (CTSI) warned that as well as taking victims’ money for fake passport renewals, scammers are then able to make use of the card details and personal information they receive at the time of application, for further theft and fraud.

On a lighter note, every day is a school day without a doubt – I was reading an article last week in the trade papers asking if we knew the meaning of upside-down pineapples. Well, we are reliably informed it is 'a thing', albeit 'a thing' I have never heard of before.

Apparently, and particularly on cruise holidays, cruisers can sometimes be seen wearing an upside-down pineapple badge or displaying the motif on baseball caps.

Sometimes the upside-down pineapple is displayed on key cards, or they can be seen at the bar – sipping from straws topped with an up-bended pineapple.

Well, the upside-down pineapple is actually used by swingers to identify each other and signal their interest in partner swapping on a cruise, allegedly.

Mischievous passengers have been known to put the pineapples on other people's doors 'just for fun'.

So, if you get back to your cabin and there is an upside-down pineapple on your cabin door, you know why.

Like I said, you learn something new every day, and this is certainly a new one to me.

Last week it was announced that the ninth annual VIP conference with Jet2holidays for independent agents is in Turkey, in a vote of confidence following the countries devastating earthquakes in February.

Up to 350 delegates and top performing agents are due to attend the event being held November 27-30.

The operator's last annual VIP conference to take place in Turkey was in 2018.

The Leeds based company said it has chosen to return as a demonstration of its commitment to the country, and so that independent travel agents, like ourselves, can see what it has to offer our customers.

Attendees will be flown out on two chartered flights, with the UK departure airports to be announced soon.

It is an event we have been invited to since they started and we can't wait to hear if we are invited again this year.

It's all about May....late deals are flying (no pun intended) off the shelves and a whopping 21 per cent of our new bookings made last week are to travel in May.

Greece and Majorca making the two top best selling holiday destinations.