Edinburgh pensioner targeted by scammers as she bought air ticket for dream holiday

Her disabled son stepped in to pay for the flight despite being unemployed and reliant on benefits. But it has left him struggling to pay off the debt and now he is trying to recoup some of the money via a GoFundMe page.

Paul Shaw, 50, from Granton, said his 75-year-old mother googled air travel to Orlando, Florida, and paid £660 for a flight with United Airlines. But when they turned up at the airport, the airline had no record of her booking.

Paul Shaw and his mother Christine: her trip to Florida was a dream holiday | supplied

“Mom thought all the travel was arranged, but United did not have my mother in the system,” he said.

“Unfortunately I hadn’t been there when she was boking the ticket - I was walking the dog. But she had made plans with her friends to see them in Florida.”

Christine and Paul, who come originally from Northern Ireland, used to live in the United States, but have been in Scotland for 18 years. “Mom was missing her friends in America,” said Paul. “That’s why she wanted to go.”

And even when she learned at the airport that she was not on the passenger list, Christine, a retired nurse who has heart, liver and kidney problems, refused to let the scammers spoil her dream trip.

Paul said: “She was determined to go no matter what and she tried to pay for it herself through her internet banking account, but that wasn’t enough money because it was a peak flight. I ended up spending £2,197 and putting it on my credit card.”

Later, when he tried to recover the money, the same scammers tried to scam him again by offering a refund. “I called my bank afterwards and they confirmed it was fraud - rather than giving me the refund they were going to take more money out.” But Paul knew there was hardly any cash in that account.

Christine has been able to give Paul some money towards the cost of the ticket. And he turned to GoFundMe after a friend suggested it. He has set a target of £800.

“I’m disabled myself and at the moment I’m living on benefits and I’m unemployed, so it’s going to take me a long time to pay this off,” he said.

“I’m really angry this happened to us and I feel justified in trying to fight back.”