With Spring Break upon us and vacation season getting underway, travel scams are going to be on the rise. Whether you are vacationing somewhere in the USA or traveling abroad, the potential to fall for a scam remains the same. From fake websites to digital pickpocketing, fake event tickets to taxi overcharging, scammers love to profit off unsuspecting tourists. Let’s dive into some of the more common travel scams and see what you can do to avoid being ripped off even before you unpack.
Taking a flight and want to avoid long TSA check-in lines? Why not use a TSA PreCheck Express website and skip the wait? Sounds like a good idea, but if you use a website other than tsa.gov (the only legit source) you may be getting scammed. Not only could you be out the fee you paid for “approval” but the TSA agent might give you some strange looks for trying to use a fake pass. Scammers use the fact that we are always in a hurry to their advantage and create sites so convincing that you never know you are being scammed until it is too late. Don’t fall for the express approval ads and always look for https:// and a padlock icon in the browser.
Digital Pickpocketing is something that has been on the rise over the past few years. With a little proximity and some tech magic, thieves use RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) scanners to steal your debit/credit card information without you even knowing anything happened. There you are enjoying yourself maybe exploring some new place and living your best life only to have all your money stolen and your trip ruined. RFID scanner dangers aren’t just for people on vacation, this can happen to you anywhere at any time. Protect yourself by getting an RFID-blocking wallet, set up Notify Me alerts on Internet Banking, and most definitely check your accounts daily.
Now, Airbnb’s are more common, more convenient, and sometimes more affordable. Except for when they aren’t real. Fake hosts create phony sites, take your money, and move on to the next person. These scammers hide behind the credibility of trusted platforms like Airbnb for their fake listings, too. Protect yourself by reading reviews and if they sound too perfect they probably are. Also, never pay off platform, especially not with CashApp or Venmo. If the host requests this, it is most likely a scam. Also, you can reverse image search the listing photos to see if they are recycled images.
Now your trip is booked, everything is paid for, you can sit back and count the days until it’s time to pack up and leave. Then you get an email titled URGENT Booking Issue and then the panic sets in. You open the email, click on the link without thinking, and boom there goes all your information to a scammer. Once again, scammers use that sense of urgency and fear to lure their victims. Plus, the scam emails have gotten so good that anyone could be fooled. Protect yourself by checking sender emails addresses. Look to be sure the address comes from a legit place and doesn’t appear fishy in any way. Never click random links, always go directly to the company’s site. Oh, and if you get an email starting with Dear Customer instead of your name, just delete because that is a huge red flag.
You passed all the previous tests, gotten to your destination and everything is beautiful, so you decide to go explore. There is a cute café or coffee shop advertising Free Public Wi-Fi and think it is a great time to check your socials or email. Then you connect to the network not realizing you just entered a hacker’s playground. Now your entire life has been compromised due to being intercepted by a criminal. This can happen with any public wi-fi, so beware! Protect yourself by using a VPN, confirm network names with staff members, and don’t check your bank accounts or any other sites that require your sensitive information on a public network.
After the coffee break on to more site seeing. For this you need transportation and look there’s a cab! You hop in, give the driver a destination, and once you reach it he gives you some astronomical amount to pay in cab fare. Cabs ripping people off is one of the oldest scams there is. Tourists are tired and usually clueless about local rates. Drives know how to exploit this with fake meters or insane flat rates. Protect yourself by using an app like Uber, agree on fares before starting the ride, and always research average costs beforehand so you don’t get surprised or duped.
Travel scams like these can leave you in a world of mess and have you saying there’s no place like home! By taking some precautions, you can avoid becoming a victim and have that dream trip or much needed weekend getaway. Plan ahead, be safe, always be aware of your surroundings, and remember: if you can spot a scam, you can stop a scam.
Written by, Tara MontgomeryFraud Specialist
