Online Travel Scams

Planning on traveling this season? Be mindful of travel scams lurking around every website.

Who Is It Targeting: Holiday travelers

What Is It: Travel scams that come in countless forms

What Are They After: Thanks to the ease and affordability of online booking, travel scams have become commonplace. They can take on many different forms, though: bait-and-switch accommodations, unexpected “fine print” fees, or even outright theft of your money for a vacation package that doesn’t exist.

Some scams even go after your identifying information or your technology, infecting your computer with viruses as you click on flashy, too-good-to-be-true ads. The famous “act now before this deal is gone!” mentality to many of the scams only increases the chances that victims will fall for them.

How Can You Avoid It:

• Only book your travel plans through legitimate websites and companies.
• Check out the address of your destination via Google Maps, and actually zoom in on the building to make sure it’s really there.
• Read the fine print, and discover what consumer protections are in place before you submit any information or funds.

If you think you may be a victim of identity theft, contact the Identity Theft Resource Center for toll-free, no-cost assistance at (888) 400-5530. Find more information about current scams and alerts here. For full details of this scam check out this article from Fox43.com.