Brits are being warned of scammers targeting people looking for caravan holidays on Facebook.

Victims have taken to social media as they look for a break this summer and have ended up catfished out of money, it is reported.

Ann Crofts, 53, told how her details were used to set up a shopping account after paying a £75 deposit for a caravan holiday at New Quay, Ceredigion. She was targeted after she posted a message to a Facebook community page looking for holiday properties in West Wales.

A Facebook user got in touch and claimed they owned a caravan on a site owned by holiday firm Haven, so Ms Crofts began directly messaging the person to discuss hiring it out. And then once she found out that she was being conned the scammer blocked her. She has since reported it to Facebook.

Speaking to the BBC, Ms Croft said: "I live in China and come home just a few months a year. I just wanted to spend time with my family." Another victim, 17-year-old Rebecca, paid a £240 deposit to someone advertising a caravan holiday, only to be told it didn’t exist after she turned up at the site.

She told the broadcaster: "When I phoned the police, they took my details and all the information that I had, but were told there wasn’t much they could have done, as the person who scammed us could be anywhere in the world. It hasn’t been the easiest couple of years for us as a family, so to lose this money, it is a lot for us. The summer is here, and we needed that money."

The scams often work by urging the victim to pay a deposit to secure the sale by saying there is a lot of interest and then they unfortunately lose their money. Which? Consumer expert Lisa Webb reportedly said holiday scams are extremely common, and added: “Whether that be home rentals, or visiting places, or car rentals - those sort of things that you might be looking for on the cheap during the summer holidays. That's not to say everything out there is a scam, but it is worth remembering that during the holiday time, you are much more likely to be experiencing these scams."

A spokesperson from Meta, which owns Facebook, said it did not allow "fraudulent activity" and was "investigating the accounts brought to our attention". It added: "We are continually investing in protections against fraud for people who use our platforms and work closely with law enforcement to support investigations." The Mirror has contacted Facebook for comment.