Getting a vacation rental Watch out for scams

Fake Holiday Package Rental Offers

Fraudsters pose as property owners or hoteliers selling tour packages to steal the money of people planning to go on a vacation. They often swipe the pictures of other hotels and sell them to travellers. Then, they post attractive pictures to offer rent accommodation. 

Some of the top holiday destinations remain expensive, and one may not get hotel rooms easily in the peak seasons at such places. Tourists often seek alternative destinations, but they should be careful to book only through legitimate sites and avoid rental scams or potential identity theft.

The pandemic created circumstances to increase online shopping trends, and fraudsters take advantage of the situation where people communicate only through emails or phones.  

They send fake email messages and create fake websites that offer tour packages to collect online users' personal and financial data. Sometimes, they post hotels without pictures, often missing contact information and poor reviews. 

During the peak seasons, the demand increases so that the rental will be high, but if the rental value is below the market value, one should be careful. 

How To Spot The Risks?

• The rental listing websites on social media are often deceiving. 

• The sites offering visitors payment through wire transfer, cards or crypto can be bogus.

• Get an alert if the owner wants the vacationers to change the rental date, and when you try to reach them on the phone, they are unavailable.

• You should avoid paying deposits – that is often 30 per cent of the total cost. Instead, get an alert if they ask for a higher amount or request you to pay for the deal through unprotected methods or bank transfers.

• If you are offered a very good deal for a low cost – for example – they rent a whole villa for the cost of a room, and they convince you that it is a last-minute promotion and you are the lucky one, one should be careful and avoid booking in a hurry.

• Beware of sharing personal information with mysterious websites, and be wary of making payments in advance.

How To Protect Yourself?

• Before booking any holiday accommodation, do complete research and look around Google to check the company's reviews offering the deals. 

• The firms with multiple valid reviews are more likely to be genuine.

• Check the certified logos of the holiday booking sites, tour operators or travel agents. ATOL protection can help to get a secured booking.

• Always look for the list of fake listings where the fraudsters will offer you to pay less for the same provision on a different website.

• The holiday bookings from good sites will not contain the host's name or phone name, and they should not try to contact the travellers outside the mailing system.

• It is safe to pay only by credit or debit card, where you may cancel the payment if anything goes wrong.

• Some victims are offered a free holiday to attend seminars and enter such timeshare deals that they later regret.

• Buy tickets from the authorised sites for any trip abroad for religious purposes or sports events.