I recently booked a hotel and flights online with Expedia and paid by credit card. A change of plan meant that it was necessary to cancel the entire booking and so I telephoned their contact centre, which at that time of day happened to be routed to India.

The following week I was confused to discover that my credit card was no longer being authorised for transactions. I contacted the card issuer and was told that they had suspended my card after receiving a suspicious telephone call from someone purporting to be me notifying them of a change of address. The fraudster had given my full name, home address and date of birth, but fortunately failed to answer their other security questions.

I very rarely provide any personal details to retailers and I recall being particularly hesitant when the Expedia form requested my date of birth. I assumed that due to airline security requirements the request was valid on this occasion and so proceeded with the booking.

Now I can’t prove beyond all reasonable doubt that the theft of my personal information and subsequent attempt to divert my credit card was attributable to Expedia call centre staff, but it seems far too much of a coincidence. I am pleased to say that the card issuer was efficient in cancelling my account and issuing a new card, but they did not seem interested in tracing the culprits.

I will not be giving Expedia my custom again and I am not the only one:

• Expedia Dot SCAM?
• Victims of Expedia