A British family was left stranded in Spain after booking a holiday villa on Facebook which didn’t exist

THEY thought they booked a luxury villa in Spain. But when they arrived, it didn’t exist.

A BRITISH family of seven say they were left stranded in Spain after being conned out of $1200 for a villa that didn’t exist.

Sheeba Gharda booked a last minute holiday through a Facebook advert and received confirmation from the owner, who claimed to be a woman named Christina Lori.

Her father-in-law is said to have made a payment of about $1200 three days before they were due to fly — but when they arrived there was no sign of the accommodation.

The family, from Chelmsford in Essex, about 65km north east of London, say they then frantically tried to contact the person purporting to be the owner but soon realised Facebook account has been deactivated with their calls and emails ignored.

Sheeba Gharda’s family pictured at the airport after they claim they were conned out of more than $1200 for a villa that didn’t even exist. Picture: Caters News Agency

Ms Gharda was forced to shell out an additional $975 for another villa in Malaga, Spain so she and children Mouris, five, and Aydin, two, and four other relatives, had somewhere to stay.

“When we turned up at the address and realisation sunk in we were all devastated, our family holiday was ruined,” Ms Gharda said.

“Originally we couldn’t locate the address we had been given, and when we eventually did a different villa stood in its place.

“I was in regular contact with the person I booked the villa through, we discussed the general details and everything seemed professional and aboveboard.

“She even sent me a picture of the street next to the villa the day before we flew out, and there was a selection of images of the villa online.

“The person explained that normally a $800 deposit is required but as it was short notice, she requested the full payment to secure the booking.

“But when we realised it was a scam we were all devastated, we were stranded with three children in a foreign county, it was a nightmare.”

A screen grab of the booking confirmation Ms Gharda said she received. Picture: Caters News Agency

Ms Gharda saw an advert for the villa, El Caprichio, on a Facebook group and made a last minute booking for a seven night break beginning on August 12.

She was accompanied by her father-in-law, Aftab, mother-in-law, Saieda, sister-in-law, Yasmin, niece, Laylaa, nine, and her two children.

“At this point we doubted whether our original villa even existed but agreed to give it until the following morning until we called again.

“We waited until after midday, but we still had no response and so decided to book the apartment where we had stayed the night before for the remainder of the holiday.

“It cost us an additional 660 euros ($985), but after everything we had been through we were just grateful for a place to stay.

“On the Tuesday, I went with my father-in-law to the Villa El Caprichio to find out who was living there.

“We found that it was a Spanish family from Madrid who owned the villa as their holiday home, they were shocked and appalled to hear that the location was being used as part of a scam.”

The family, from Chelmsford, Essex, are said to have made a payment three days before they were due to fly. Picture: Caters News Agency

Ms Gharda accompanied the family to Marbella Police Station where they reported what had happened.

Since returning home, Ms Gharda has also submitted full details to Action Fraud Police UK in the hope that they will be able to stop other families from falling victim to the scam.

“After posting about it online I discovered a number of families in Essex and Surrey that had also been victims to the scam.

“But it’s been really frustrating as nothing seems to have been done so far, and of course we haven’t been given a refund.

“So far we haven’t received any help from the police. I understand that this is a common occurrence and that the police are very busy, but we can’t let people get away with this.”

Ms Gharda said she was forced to shell out more money for another villa in Malaga, Spain when there was no sign of the accommodation when they arrived. Picture: Caters News Agency

According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Index (ACCC), reports of Australians falling victim to social media scams rose by 79 per cent in 2016.

In regards to classified scams specifically on social media — where a scammer advertises products for sale at cheap prices — reports rose by 26 per cent in 2016, costing Australians more than $28,000.

The ACCC’s Scamwatch also received over 150 reports about holiday scams on sharing economy platforms this year, such as Airbnb, with $80,000 reported lost. Complaints tripled from 2015, when there was $65,000 reported lost to these scams.

“Watch out for scammers advertising accommodation deals in great locations at cheap prices. When you go to book a break, scammers direct you away from the site and ask you to pay them directly using money orders or wire transfer services such as Western Union and MoneyGram,” ACCC Deputy Chair Delia Rickard warned.

“Some reports indicate that scammers create very convincing fake versions of the site which they can use to collect personal details and banking information. Be aware that the scammers may send ‘confirmation’ emails which appear to be official, using a logo or email address that imitates the real thing.”

A version of this article originally appeared on The Sun and was republished here with permission.