Travel Vouchers May Be Too Good to Be True

With Tuesday being the day after Cyber Monday, which is becoming recognized for airline and hotel sales, travel booking websites are launching promotions on Tuesday.

As Americans begin planning their summer vacations for 2024, "Travel Tuesday" offers discounts on airfare, cruises, and accommodations. However, con artists are also preparing schemes to defraud customers.

Around the holidays, when people buy more things overall, fraudsters frequently prey on buyers. Online merchants such as Amazon.com claim that although fraudsters are always active, they are busier during this time of year.

Tools that use generative artificial intelligence, such as ChatGPT, are making things more dangerous by assisting scammers in creating increasingly complex schemes.

Holiday Rental Scams

To trick customers into believing they are making a reservation with a genuine company, con artists may fabricate bogus travel companies or even pass for reliable websites when it comes to short-term lodging.

Chief innovation officer of IdentityIQ, a business that protects against identity theft, Mike Scheumack, said the bogus agencies will have websites listing fraudulent rental properties. Consumers will be duped by dishonest businesses into paying a "rental deposit" to guarantee a reservation, then the businesses will vanish, according to Scheumack.

Deals via SMS and Email

During the Cyber Five period, which runs from Thanksgiving to Cyber Monday, retailers and service providers usually flood consumers with incentives. This can lead to receivers easily mistaking a bogus letter for a great trip bargain.

Make sure the email is coming from the firm it says it is from by always looking up the sender's email address.

Airline Ticket Scams

Scams involving airline tickets deceive prospective tourists into purchasing tickets that aren't genuinely useful for travel or anything else at all.

Fraudsters will fabricate websites pretending to be travel agencies and send out enticing offers. After requesting payment details from customers, they take their credit card information and flee.

Make sure the website isn't a counterfeit copy of a reputable website and only book flights from well-known websites. Avoid clicking on unexpected payment links.

Rideshare Scams

There is never a part of the trip that is totally secure or impervious to fraud. The way rideshare scams operate is by emailing links to fictitious charges, including fictitious cleanup costs for messes they didn't make or purported cancellation fees for rides they didn't request.

Too Good to Be True Deals

If a travel deal seems too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers may lure victims with incredibly low prices to trick them into providing payment information.

Wi-Fi Hotspot Risks

Avoid accessing sensitive information, such as online banking or making purchases, using public Wi-Fi networks. Scammers may set up fake hotspots to intercept your data.

Always exercise caution and conduct thorough research before making any travel-related transactions, especially during high-traffic shopping periods like Cyber Monday and Travel Tuesday. Additionally, check for any recent advisories or warnings from reputable sources. If you encounter suspicious activity, report it to the appropriate authorities.