7 Common Travel Scams and Ways to Avoid Them
Nothing can ruin a vacation faster than travel scam. Whether you are planning a staycation, a trip across the country, or you will be traveling internationally, here are 7 common scams you should be aware of and how to avoid them.
1. Overbooked/Closed Hotel: On the way to your hotel a cab driver will tell you that your hotel is closed, overbooked or just not good and insist on taking you to another, often times more expensive hotel where they will often times make a small profit.
Avoid this scam by checking with your hotel ahead of time. Verify that they are open and ask if they provide any sort of shuttle service in order to avoid the taxi driver. If you have to take a taxi insist that they take you to your hotel and tell them that you have a reservation. If they are persistent, get out and catch another taxi.
2. Free Items: This is a scam that tends to prey on women. Scammers will approach female travelers with “free” items, like bracelets. Once the bracelet is on the victim’s wrist they will demand payment and begin to cause a scene.
Avoid this scam by not allowing anyone to place anything on you and be wary of anything that is supposedly free, especially if you are in a very touristy area.
3. Group Photo: Be very aware of this scam while in a very touristy area or near a landmark. A stranger will approach you and offer to take a photo of you and your group/family/friends. While you arrange yourself for the photo, the stranger makes his getaway with your camera and/or phone.
This scam can be difficult to avoid or spot ahead of time, but some precautions include making sure that you are approaching someone to take the photo, not the other way around, and stick to asking other tourists in exchange for then taking their photo.
4. Hotel Wakeup Call: If you get a strange phone call in the middle of the night while staying at a hotel, it could be a scam. In this scam the criminal will call you in the middle of the night claiming to be the front desk and that there was a problem with your credit card. They will then ask you to provide a new card or give them the details again.
Avoid this scam by never giving away your details over the phone and if you receive this call, hang up and head down to the front desk in person.
5. Fake Take-Out: You arrive in your hotel room, starving. Room service is either too expensive, closed, or non-existent, so you decide to order from one of the take-out menus you found in your room. Although many hotels do provide you with menus and specials for restaurants in the nearby area, there is a slight risk that the menu you have chosen was either slid under your door or placed in your room by other means and is actually a fake restaurant or a menu for a real restaurant, but with fake contact details. After you place your order the scammer takes your credit card information and leaves you hungry.
Avoid this scam by always verifying that a menu/restaurant is legitimate. You can do this by checking with the front desk or a quick google search. Also, verify that a number is accurate before placing the call.
6. Disappearing Vacation Rentals: You find your dream spot online only to show up at your destination with no place to stay. Scam artists will often post fake vacation rentals (or legitimate rentals, with fake contact information). While booking they will ask you to wire them either your deposit or full payment. They will then take your money and leave you with no place to stay.
Avoid this scam by booking rentals through legitimate sources and never wiring money. Always make payments with a credit card as these are easier to track and halt if something was to go wrong.
7. Fake Booking Websites: Similar to the disappearing vacation rentals, scammers will create legitimate looking sites tricking you into booking with them. This scam comes in multiple variations. In one form, they will create a website that looks like a well-known site, such as an Airbnb or Expedia and tricks users into booking with them. A second form involves them not trying to deceive you into thinking that they are a well known legitimate site, but rather just making you believe they are a legitimate business themselves and that you can safely book with them. Once you believe you have “booked” your hotel they will take your money, but make no further arrangements.
You can avoid both versions of these scams by making sure to book directly with a hotel. If you do decide to use a third party booking site or something such as Airbnb, make sure the organization/website is trustworthy and be sure that you are on the actual website for that organization (double check the URL and look for the secure lock before inputting any credit card information).
Additional Travel Tips can be found on the BBB website.
