Scammed vacation rental tourists start class action lawsuit against bank

Australian holidaymakers are pursuing a class action lawsuit against Barclays Bank after hundreds of false accounts were used in an international travel scam...Over the past 18 months, tourists have wired millions of dollars into accounts with Barclays to pay for luxury accommodations...around the world. The vacations are booked through HomeAway and FlipKey, owned by TripAdvisor.

However, the Barclays Bank accounts are run by criminals who, after hacking the sites and "phishing" the original email inquiry, assume the identity of the property owner and steer customers into making bogus bookings.

In the past 12 months, Australians have become a prime target. While some have been left stranded in Miami, Florida and Paris, it is the luxury Balinese villas closer to home that are proving the most popular bait.