To protect British Muslims from fraudulent Hajj travel packages in the UK, the City of London Police is reaching out to Muslim community leaders and distributing fraud prevention leaflets in local mosques as well as residential areas.
About 25,000 British Muslims travel to Saudi Arabia every year for pilgrimage, spending around £125 million. Last year 87 people reported to Action Fraud that they had been scammed by Hajj fraud, with total losses running to £237,995. It is believed that unreported figures may be even higher.
A number of suspects involved in the scam have been arrested with the support of regional fraud teams and advocacy and awareness campaigns via social media are also being carried out with the support of organizations including Council of British Hajjis, Get Safe Online and Trading Standards.
