Getting scammed is never fun—but falling prey to a travel scam can be especially upsetting. Not only are you out a significant amount of money, but you’ve given away a lot of personal information, and your trip might be ruined. As WIRED explained, travel scammers are out there, so it’s worth knowing everything you can about their methods.
How fake travel agencies scam people
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Scammers lure potential victims by flashing great deals on flights. Maybe you were surprised at how expensive flights are, so you decide to search for deals online. Or perhaps you remember an email you received that helps you find travel deals or a post you saw on social media about cheap travel.
Legitimate travel agencies try to find deals and book everything for you. Of course, they’ll need your information to do that. The problem is there are bad apples pretending to be part of the industry who are just after your money and personal information.
As USA Today reported, these fake travel agents will “book” your flights for you with your information—even if you do your due diligence and check the airline with your flight information to confirm your seat is there, you can be misled into thinking you actually have a seat on that plane.
This is because scammers can reserve a ticket under your name without actually booking it. An individual can only reserve for a short period—the Department of Transportation requires that the airlines allow a hold for at least 24 hours, and most don’t allow any holds for longer than 72 hours. Agencies, on the other hand, can hold for longer—up to two weeks, according to Wired. For people traveling overseas who have to wait for visa applications to go through, this longer hold comes in handy. But it also presents an opening for scammers to pounce.
How to avoid falling for a fake travel agency
There are some things you can do to avoid becoming a victim of fake travel agencies. Here is what USA Today recommends:
- Don’t pay until you see a confirmation number or e-ticket number. Anything else could just be a reservation, and that’s not a confirmed ticket.
- Book directly from the airline’s website to be extra safe. You may not get the lowest price—but hey, at least you can get frequent flyer points.
- If you’re worried about a ticket, talk directly to the airline’s customer service department. Don’t call the travel agency booking site. Make sure the ticket is confirmed, not just reserved.
I’ve covered how to spot fake websites before; you can use all of the same tips for travel sites. Check their domains, design, if it’s a secure website, and their about us/contact us page. To go deeper, use Whois to see more information about the website like how recent it is, if they’ve changed their name, and where it was created. Scam Detector will also give you a great overview of how trusty the website is.
Checking their Better Business Bureau reviews is also great resource (if you don’t see them there, it’s probably a fake website). Most reputable travel agencies are recognized by organizations like the American Society of Travel Advisors or have International Air Transport Association accreditation.
If they are not transparent about their total payment or have a lot of hidden fees, don’t trust them. Especially if they want to take your payments with bank transfers or money orders.