Booking.com warns of up to 900% increase in travel scams

But – speaking at the Collision technology conference in Toronto – Ms Wilking said AI was making them harder to detect because it could generate realistic images and much more accurate text, in multiple languages.

She is calling for hotels and travellers to use two-factor authentication – it involves an additional security check, such as inputting a code sent to you phone – calling it “the best way to combat phishing and credential stealing”.

She also urged people to more vigilant than before when clicking on links.

But despite criticising how scammers are using AI, she said the technology was also allowing Booking.com to rapidly remove fake hotels that tried to scam people.

“We’ve set up AI models to detect those and either block them from getting on there to begin or take it down before there’s any booking,” she said.

Jane Hawkes, a consumer expert specialising in the travel industry, said travel providers should “step up efforts” to make people aware of the scams.

“They also have a responsibility to advise travellers ways to minimise the risk of being scammed,” she said.

But she said people should do their research “with due diligence” to avoid falling for them in the first place.

“Check that contact details are readily available on websites and that there is a telephone number – many scam sites purposely don’t have one,” she said.

And she also recommended booking package holidays, rather than booking flights and accommodation separately, and to use a credit card to maximise how much you are protected.