By Debbie Gardner
dgardner@thereminder.com
In her role as President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central New England, Lisa Swanson leads the BBB’s efforts to advance marketplace trust by supporting ethical business practices and helping consumers make informed decisions.
Among Swanson’s duties is raising consumer awareness of scam artists and their latest tactics. A major tool in this fight is the BBB’s national Scam Tracker, which in May recorded 23,000 scam reports, amounting to more than $69.2 million in losses nationwide.
With summer travel heating up, Prime reached out to Swanson with questions about vacation scams and how consumers can avoid becoming a victim. Here’s what she shared:
Q: Is the Better Business Bureau seeing an uptick in reports of travel-related scams? What type or types are the most reported?
“There’s always an uptick in scams that relate to the season; right now, it’s travel scams. The Better Business Bureau recently published a report on the five top travel scams and the red flags to look for.
“Vacation rentals are a top scam, as there are so many choices for rentals. Many scammers don’t even live in the area of the proposed rental. Before you book, check public records, do an address search, and use Google Street View to confirm the property exists and actually matches the address. Avoid negotiating your rental by text or email. If you can, verify the property with the owner on the phone, especially if you are using a service that doesn’t verify the owner. Avoid negotiating your rental by text or email.
“Free vacations are another popular scam. They’re not always’ free’ – you really need to look at the whole picture. Make sure what is advertised is what you are getting; read the fine print and look for added fees such as airline tickets, port charges, taxes and tips, and other undisclosed fees before you book.
“Airline reservations through third-party booking sites. We all do it – put our destination in Google looking for flights – but you want to make sure the company is a legitimate airline ticket company. Do your research before booking that ticket. Common airline scams include follow-up calls about your flight being canceled and that to secure a flight or bring baggage onboard, you need to pay an extra fee.
“Hotel charge card issues are another common scam. These seem to be timed exactly right – you arrive at the hotel, check in, and as you get to your room, you get a call that there’s something wrong with the card you gave the desk. The caller asks for personal or bank information. Hotels are never going to ask for that information over the phone. Go back down to the desk to investigate the issue.
“The fifth scam popping up right now involves selling your timeshare. With this scam, it’s common for a caller to tell you they have a buyer but you have to pay a fee upfront to unlock access to this buyer. This is always suspicious. Anytime you are paying a fee up front you lose the ability to hold people accountable for what they are promising you.
“For more information on these scams and tips to avoid being a victim check out the complete article at bbb.org/all/travel/travel-safety-tips/top-5-vacation-scams-to-avoid.”
Q: Are there any general red flags that might tip off a consumer that what’s being presented is a travel-related scam? How can you protect yourself?
“Be suspicious of offers that have a sense of urgency or ask for too much personal information. And if they ask for a fee upfront, that’s always a red flag.
“Overall, if it’s too good to be true, it probably isn’t!
“To protect yourself, always make sure you are on a reputable website when booking any travel activity. Do your research first; go online and check for reviews and complaints about the company or the property.
“Use a credit card, not a debit card, or gift cards, or a prepaid debit card; when you pay with a credit card, you have a little bit of protection.
“Go to the consumer section of the Better Business Bureau’s website (ht.bbb.org/all/consumer-resources) for a host of consumer articles and information, and scam alerts. You can go in and search for different types of information.
“When looking for a vacation rental, check with the Better Business Bureau to see if the business is reputable. We have over 100 years of data to identify BBB-verified vacation rentals. Search the business on the BBB website. The reviews and complaints can be very telling.
Q: What steps should a consumer follow if they believe they were caught by a travel scam?
“First, call your bank or credit card company and put a stop payment on the charge. Next, report the scam to your state attorney general or another consumer protection agency.
“Third, we’d love it if you would report the scam to the Better Business Bureau Scam Tracker at bbb.org/scamtracker.”
For a step-by-step guide to surviving vacation and many other types of scams, visit scamsurvivaltoolkit.bbbmarketplacetrust.org/
For more information on vacation and rental scams, as well as a host of other common scams and fraud schemes, visit bbb.org/all/scamstudies.