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Keep an Eye Out for the Latest Travel Scams

Don’t let criminals steal your fun with fake booking sites, bogus deals and other rip-offs


a bunch of suitcases and $100 bills are falling
Photo Illustration: Danielle Del Plato

Americans ages 50 and up say they planned to spend an average of more than $6,847 dollars on vacations in 2025, an AARP survey found. Nearly all (95 percent) say they believe travel is good for their mental health.  

Unfortunately, sometimes a dream trip can turn into a financial nightmare. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 58,000 reports of fraud linked to travel, vacations and time-share plans in 2024. (Check out this AARP guide on time-share exit scams).

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) Scam Tracker includes many complaints, including one from a man who reported losing $440 when a travel consultant, who’d lied about his credentials, said he’d paid the client’s flight cancellation fee but hadn’t. Another consumer said she had $975 stolen from her by a travel agent who was supposed to book her a hotel in Aruba but took the cash instead.

But travel scams are getting harder to detect, due to the wide availability of AI tools, allowing criminals to create high-quality fake websites to tout packaged holidays, vacation rentals, or cruise tickets. “They copy legitimate listings for other websites and just pop them onto a new website,” says Darius Kingsley, head of consumer banking practices at Chase. “People might not realize how modern tools make this so easy.”

Common travel scams

1. Fraudulent travel services online

There are loads of fake travel company websites touting hotels, car rentals or other services. You can often find clues (such as misspellings) that a site isn’t legit, but, again, AI tools can help criminals create more professional-looking websites, without the typos and grammar mistakes, says attorney and scam authority Steven Weisman. Scammers create these sites “to lure you into clicking on malware-infected links or provid[ing] credit card or debit card information,” Weisman notes on his website, Scamicide.com.

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2. Free trips and bargains from unsolicited sources

Bogus travel deals can arrive through emails, text messages, social media, postcards, robocalls and online pop-up ads. Even if they look real — some scammers copy the logos of legitimate businesses — treat these offers with extreme caution. They will typically advertise free trips to get your attention, then charge hundreds of dollars in fees and taxes, the FTC warns. Specifics about the trip are often missing: Instead you’ll see vague references to “five-star” resorts or “luxury” cruises (AARP offers specific advice on cruise scams).

spinner image cartoon of a woman holding a megaphone

Have you seen this scam?

  • Call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 or report it with the AARP Scam Tracking Map.  
  • Get Watchdog Alerts for tips on avoiding such scams.

3. Vacation rental scams

Scammers can “hijack real rental listings and advertise them as their own, so when you show up for your vacation, you find out that other people are also booked for the same property,” according to the FTC. Not only do scammers copy a legitimate listing and add their own names and contact info but they frequently list a seriously low price to attract potential renters, Weisman says. Or they’ll tell potential renters that many people are interested in the property and that they need to wire money to be considered. And note that legitimate rental sites like Airbnb and VRBO offer customer protections, but you’re on your own if the supposed seller convinces you to make a deal offline and pay them directly, Kingsley points out.

4. Hotel credit card scams

Some scammers will call your hotel room (often in the middle of the night), claim they’re from the front desk and say they need to verify your credit card information due to a computer glitch. “Hang up immediately and contact the front desk to verify the call,” recommends the Arkansas attorney general’s office. Another scam, according to Weisman: You arrive in your room and find a flyer underneath the door to order pizza or other food, but the phony menu is from a scammer who wants you to order dinner to get your credit card number.

5. Real ID scams

You now need a Real ID — an enhanced driver’s license or state ID card — to board a domestic flight (you can also use a passport). Scammers are sending out phishing emails, texts, and calls that appear to be from a legitimate source, such as your state DMV or the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS) about the new requirement. The messages will entice you to click on links so criminals can obtain your personal information or download malware onto your computer. To get a Real ID, you typically need to go in-person to a DMV office, where you’ll present documents proving your age and identity, Social Security number and address. DMVs will never ask you to provide personal information by text or email.

How to protect yourself from travel scams

Determine if a website is real. You can look up a domain to confirm whether it’s legit using WhoIs.com ; enter the site’s URL and you’ll find out who owns it and where the owner resides. “When a site for Hyatt or Hertz is based in Nigeria, you know you’ve got a problem,” Weisman says. Also be suspicious if you don’t see a contact page or a physical address, phone number or email address on the site.

Don’t trust phone numbers. Scammers can impersonate phone numbers through caller ID spoofing. If you’re renting a car, for example, confirm that you’re dialing a real customer service department (and that you’re using a legitimate company website to find contact info) before you call or click to reserve your rental.

Do your homework. If you are planning to rent or use a travel booking agency, do some research before working with them. Search for the company’s name online, along with words like “scam,” “review” or “complaint” and see what pops up. Also check for complaints on the BBB website. “If you’re looking at a car rental company that you haven’t heard of, and it’s a great deal, be skeptical — especially if they tell you to act now because it’s such a great price,” Weisman says. Ask people you know and trust for referrals.

Be cautious of travel businesses that ask you to pay before confirming reservations. “Most reputable travel agents will confirm before payment,” says the Georgia Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Division. And stick with reputable companies.

Avoid using search terms like “cheap rental cars.” Words like “cheap” can draw a higher number of bogus companies among your search results. And sometimes phony companies can appear higher in search results than real companies, says Weisman. A scammer might purchase an ad for the phony website, for example, which places it near the top of the search.

Confirm who really owns a vacation rental. “Search online for the rental location’s address, together with the name of the property owner or rental company,” the FTC suggests. “If other ads come up for the same address but with a different owner or rental company name, that’s a sign of a scam.” When Weisman wanted to rent a place on Cape Cod, he went to the tax assessor’s website. “The name of the person who was supposedly renting it to me wasn’t the name of the owner,” he says. “That’s always a good indication that it’s not legitimate.”

Never pay for travel services or rentals with a gift card or by wiring money. Scammers want you to pay this way — or with cryptocurrency — because “once they’ve collected the money, it’s almost impossible to get it back,” the FTC states. It’s safest to pay with a credit card, which has more protections than even debit cards. The same is true with services like Zelle and Venmo, adds Weisman. “They should never be used for commercial transactions, because they lack the fraud protection of a credit card,” he says.

Be wary of Wi-Fi. Whether you’re at an airport or a coffee shop, connecting to public Wi-Fi can expose your personal information to hackers. Instead, connect to the internet via your smartphone’s hot spot or purchase a virtual private network (VPN), which encrypts your data.

Avoid third-party visa programs. Americans are required to obtain visas when visiting certain countries, such as India and Australia. Third-party websites often promise to provide visas quickly for a fee, but many are scams that seek not only cash but personal information for identity theft. Instead, go to the U.S. State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs website. You’ll find procedures and links for the countries you’re planning to visit.

AARP has more information on overseas travel scams here.

What to do if you’ve been targeted in a travel scam

  • Report scams to local law enforcement and the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3.gov). Not every complaint leads to enforcement action, but the information can help officials spot trends and sometimes identify the criminals.
  • For support and guidance call the free AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline, 877-908-3360, to speak with trained specialists who can share information on what to do next and how to avoid future scams. The AARP Fraud Watch Network also offers online group support sessions.

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spinner image cartoon of a woman holding a megaphone

Have you seen this scam?

  • Call the AARP Fraud Watch Network Helpline at 877-908-3360 or report it with the AARP Scam Tracking Map.  
  • Get Watchdog Alerts for tips on avoiding such scams.