Have you packed your bathing suit and some sun screen yet?
It’s time for summer vacation, which is why the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is reminding the public to watch out for scams which ruin many an American’s vacation.
Scammers target people online in order to take advantage of their excitement. The basic idea is that if people are excited, happy, and in a rush, they often won’t be as guarded as they normally would be. The most common scams see scammers post vacation listings online, which are often “offered” at unrealistically low rates. The only reliable way to avoid these scams is to slow down and do your research on whoever is behind what you’re looking at.
The first piece of advice from the BBB is to plan ahead and do your research well before you find yourself in a rush. Take your time to research the hotels you’ll be staying at, the reservations you booked, and so on. Working like this in advance not only helps you avoid scams, but it often helps you save money. It also gives you more options because nice hotels offering great deals tend to book out fast.
Next, try to be specific with what you search online. If you’re searching for “amazing deals” or “last-minute hotels,” you’ll likely stumble into a site run by scammers who play on the rushed mindsets of last-minute vacation-goers. It’s also a great idea to review the cancellation policies of any hotels or trips you booked while you order up the details of any bookings in writing.
As is the case when doing anything you feel is iffy, use a credit card to pay for it. If you use a debit card, the money is often gone forever the second it leaves your bank account. Credit cards give you far more options and provide an extra layer of safety should you accidentally pay for a scam offer. Credit card charges can usually be reversed, or in the worst case you can sacrifice your credit score by refusing to pay, when applicable.
