FTC: How to avoid a travel scam this summer

Submitted by the Federal Trade Commission Consumer Advice

Summer is here! If you haven't made your vacation plans yet, you might be looking for a deal. While you look for bargains, scammers are looking for ways to reach you…and your money. Here are some things to know to help you avoid travel scams.

Travel scams can crop up when you’re searching online for hotels or flights. Scammers sometimes use paid ads and put their number alongside a well-known company’s name, or link to a website that only looks like it belongs to a hotel brand or airline. To avoid these scammers, scroll to the unpaid search results and check that you have the right website or contact info for the business you’re looking for. Or better yet, type the company’s website directly into the browser, if you know it.

Scammers have driving vacations covered, too, sending texts about fake “unpaid tolls” and demanding immediate payment. If you’re not sure that text is real, reach out to the state’s toll agency using a phone number or website you know is right — not the info from the text.

Here are some other ways to avoid travel scams:

1. Get all the details of a travel offer before you commit. If the organizer can’t or won’t give you more specific details (other than saying “you’ll stay at a ‘five-star’ resort”), walk away.
2. Do some research. Look up the names of travel companies, hotels, rentals, and agents with the words “scam,” “review,” or “complaint.” See what others say about them before you commit.
3. Look at how they ask you to pay. Only scammers say the only way to pay is by wire transfer, gift card, payment app, or cryptocurrency. They prefer these methods because, once they’ve collected the money, it’s almost impossible to get it back.

Learn more at ftc.gov/TravelScams. Spot a scam? Tell the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.