Common Travel Scams and How to Avoid Them

Who doesn't love a vacation? It's a time to unwind and forget all your troubles. The only thing you want to bring back from your trip away is a few souvenirs and lots of happy memories. However, in this relaxed state of mind, often in unfamiliar locations, travelers can fall victim to various travel scams that can turn their dream vacation into a nightmare. 

To make sure the only thing you worry about on your next vacation is whether you’ve packed enough sunscreen, we’ve compiled a guide to spotting the most common travel scams and how to avoid them.

Key Insights

• Travel scams are on the rise, with 1 in 4 US travelers falling foul of scammers.
• Vacation scams often exploit the consumer’s desire to find cheap deals by urging them to make quick decisions based on the perception of scarcity.
• Scammers are becoming more sophisticated in their deployment of technology.

Red Flags of Travel Scams

There are a number of red flags that can help you identify and potentially avoid tourist scams. If you see any of the following scenarios while booking your vacation or while visiting your destination, it’s time to walk away. Typical travel scam red flags include:

• Unrealistic offers for flight deals or accommodation that are just too good to be true.
• Free vacation offers or prize draws that require you to pay taxes, fees, or other charges upfront.
• High-pressure sales techniques that demand immediate payment.
• Suspicious payment requests, including wire transfers or non-traditional and insecure methods such as gift cards or cryptocurrency.
• Vague or missing information, including incomplete itineraries, contact details, or cancellation policies.
• Websites with unfamiliar URLs or spoof addresses, including misspelled brand names or unusual domains such as .net or .org instead of .com.
• QR codes in high-traffic areas (like airports) that often point to fake websites or lure travelers into visiting tourist traps. 
• Unprofessional communications, including generic greetings, over-familiarity, and poor grammar and spelling.

6 Common Travel Scams

The recent consumer insights have identified six of the most common travel scams. 

Vacation rental scams 

The growing popularity of online booking sites connecting consumers to private vacation rental operators has led to a spike in vacation rental scams. For example, some popular hotel and Airbnb scams include reservation scams where payment is taken, but bookings are not completed, cancellation scams where consumers are denied full refunds, and payment scams that ask consumers to make payments via insecure and unprotected routes. 

Consumers should also be wary of property owners overcharging for vacation rental properties or adding unreasonable admin fees. 

Hotel complaints are a regular feature on PissedConsumer. A recent review #6246162 highlighted how, after canceling their booking, a consumer was faced with a $900 cancellation processing fee. This consumer issue could have been avoided by carefully reading the terms and conditions and property reviews.

I would not have booked if I had known there was a processing fee for cancellation.

Phishing emails

There are plenty of sophisticated email scams and you should read letters carefully. In the case of vacation rental scams, scammers will often attempt to acquire credit card information by sending fake emails purporting to come from a legitimate booking site or accommodation agent.

One Reddit user shared that they received an email from a hotel they recently booked, however it suspiciously required completing the verification form “to prevent credit card fraud.”

Source: reddit.com

Fake booking websites 

Scammers can create fake websites, which are often linked to phishing email campaigns. These fake websites are frequently direct copies of legitimate booking sites and can be difficult to spot. Consumers are urged to check the validity of email and website addresses before clicking on any links. Red flags will include misspelled brand names, replacing letters with numbers, and alternative domains such as .org or .net instead of the more familiar .com address. Scammers are also increasingly using QR codes to link to fake websites. These are often placed over legitimate codes in high-traffic areas (like airports). Think twice before scanning these codes and check all details before proceeding with any transaction.

Free or discounted trips

Free or discounted trips often fall into the category of "if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is." In one Reddit thread a user shared that they received a call that they won “a free 3 night stay at a local resort". However, they need to attend a mandatory presentation, which can be a red flag.

Source: reddit.com

Alternatively, consumers can be spoofed into paying administration fees, taxes, and other unseen charges for travel services that may or may not be legitimate.

Airline scams

Delayed flights and problems with airlines refund policies are just some of the issues facing airline passengers. Airline scams target passengers in exactly the same way as vacation property scams work. Typical airline scams will include phishing campaigns, fake customer service emails linking to illegitimate booking sites, and fraudulent customer service telephone numbers.

Car rental scams

The most common consumer issues we receive at Pissed Consumer regarding car rental scams involve hidden costs, unexpected charges, and poor customer service. This issue was highlighted in this recent review of Sixt, where a customer claimed they were charged an additional fee instead of receiving a promised discount when their originally booked car wasn't available.

I feel that I was lied to just to get me to accept a vehicle that I did not want or reserve.

Steps to Take if You've Fallen Victim to Travel Scams

If you've fallen victim to a travel scam, swift action can help you mitigate further losses and possibly help you to recover any lost funds. Here’s a step-by-step guide:

• Document everything by saving all email and social media communications, taking screenshots of fake websites, and taking notes of any transactions
• Contact your bank and credit card companies to prevent further payments from being made.
• File a complaint with legitimate booking companies such as Airbnb, booking.com, etc.
• File a report with the local police and consumer protection agencies such as the FTC.
• Contact your insurance company to see if they will cover any losses.
• Change the logins and passwords of your online accounts to prevent future breaches. 
• Warn others by leaving online reviews on booking sites and consumer advocacy sites like PissedConsumer.
• Monitor your financial statements to ensure no further losses.

Have you been a victim of a travel scam?

Have you fallen foul of a travel scam or faced a poor customer experience with a travel business? Why not share your experience and write a review here on PissedConsumer to help others learn how to avoid travel scams and bring nothing but happy memories back from their vacation.