Former travel agent Lyne Barlow, who is serving a prison sentence for conning holidaymakers in a £2.6 million scam, is the subject of Channel 4’s latest Social Media Monsters programme, which aired this week.
The show, which was first shown on Wednesday night, detailed how Barlow scammed hundreds of customers between 2019 and 2020, by posting seemingly unbeatable deals on social media that turned out to be too good to be true.
Complaints led to Durham police uncovering one of their biggest fraud cases, which resulted in Barlow being jailed for nine years, in February 2023.
She initially took money from friends and family, using up their savings – including scamming £500,000 from her mother – before setting up an online travel agency with InteleTravel and advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
Her former friend Emma Jackson said on the programme: “She was getting loads of interest through Facebook. She was beating everyone on prices.”
Former Met Police Chief Superintendent Dal Babu OBE said: “She was offering people holidays at ridiculously low prices. But if it’s too good to be true, it’s not true. I’m afraid people fell for that.”
Agents on the Travel Gossip Facebook group said they were worried the programme could damage trust among clients.
Lucy Clarke, Managing Director of Travology Travel in Chester, said: “Fraudulent travel agents have no place in our industry. Legitimate agents already face enough challenges without greedy fraudsters exploiting customers and damaging trust.
“Reputable agents follow strict ethical and regulatory standards, and travellers should always be cautious of deals that seem too good to be true. In all my years in travel, I’ve seen this happen far too often, and by the time they’re exposed, it’s already too late.”
Nicky Beecher, Travel Consultant at Flamingo Destinations, said:“I was absolutely horrified by the whole thing. As an independent travel agent, most of my clients find me online. Lots of my clients have never met me, so I rely on them trusting me.
“I am part of Hays Travel. I make sure I tell my customers that their payments don’t come to me directly. They go through Hays’ payment system, so they pay through secure card links or secure bank transfer. I think we have a real responsibility to build that assurance and trust right at the beginning.”
Watch the programme here.
See also: Detectives reveal reason bogus agent Lyne Barlow’s scam wasn’t stopped sooner
