Keep an Eye Out for the Latest Travel 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. Fraudulent services for visas or driving permits

The FTC warns that scammers create websites to sell fake travel visas and passports, as well as International Driving Permits (IDP), which translate your government-issued driver’s license into 10 languages. It notes that the U.S. Department of State authorizes only two organizations to issue IDPs in the United States: the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Automobile Touring Alliance (AATA).

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 hotspot 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.