The 14 Biggest Travel Scams, and How to Avoid Them

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You’ve likely heard the saying, “There’s a sucker born every minute.” Don’t let that be you. These travel scams are surprisingly effective, but knowing how to spot them can help you protect your vacation from disaster.

Fake Websites

You search for a hotel or tour and get through to what looks like a legitimate website from a known company. But it isn’t: It’s a copycat version run by a scammer who paid a lot of money for a good search engine position. At best, after you make a payment, the hotel will honor your reservation—but probably at a higher price than you should have paid. At worst, you get nothing.

Take a close look at the website’s URL. Unsure if it’s right? Do a new search to find the company’s homepage and compare it to the first half of the link—any rogue characters, numbers, or symbols might mean it’s fake. You should never pay for a service via wire transfer or any irreversible money-transfer system.

Car-Rental Collision Damage Waivers

When you rent a car, the agency often pressures you to buy a car-rental collision damage waiver (CDW) supplement, which will prevent you from having to pay a high insurance deductible if the car is damaged. Since the deductible can be thousands of dollars before insurance kicks in, it sounds like a smart add-on, right?

Wrong. Most major credit cards already include deductible collision coverage for free, so you likely don’t need it if you’re paying for your rental with a credit card. Before traveling, check your credit card terms and decline the CDW confidently if your card already covers it. 

“You Won a Free Trip!”

If you’ve entered your email address in a “win a free trip” popup ad or signed up to win at a fair, you may have gotten a phone call, letter, or email claiming you’ve won a free vacation. These days, the hustle is often via robocalls.

Be wary—many of these “prizes” are booby traps in which you’ll have to pay hefty fees to claim the vacation or give your credit card number to “verify your eligibility,” resulting in identity theft. After a recent lull in monitoring these robocalls, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is again cracking down on them. If you’re scammed, get the names of resorts and airlines included in the prize and call them independently to verify the trip. Never give credit card information to someone who cold-calls you, and be sure to get details of the prize in writing before accepting.

Scam Airfare Sites

When searching for plane tickets, you may come across unfamiliar websites offering fares significantly lower than those available directly through the airline. However, after purchasing a ticket, victims often receive a message stating that the fare sold out “during processing” and are then directed to call the company. At this point, they are informed that they must either pay a cancellation fee or purchase the ticket at a higher price. If you’re tempted by a low fare from an unknown company, take a moment to Google the company’s name and read reviews—most scam sites have hundreds of negative reviews that can serve as a warning.

Fake International Driving Permits

The FTC also warns against fake International Driving Permits (IDPs). Some countries require tourists to have an IDP in addition to a U.S. driver’s license. However, the American Automobile Association (AAA) is the only American company legally authorized to issue IDPs. Fraudulent companies sell fake IDPs over the Internet, but you’ll pay hundreds of dollars for a permit only to face legal problems for using the imposter IDs in another country.

According to the FTC, these fake permits are worthless “and could cause legal problems and delays for you if you’re detained for using it to drive in a foreign country.”

The Bait and Switch

The hotel you’re considering booking is suspiciously cheap, but the property’s website makes it look beautiful and centrally located. When you arrive, the hotel is run-down, missing amenities, and in a deserted part of town—and it won’t refund your money. Avoid this travel scam by using websites like Oyster (one of SmarterTravel’s sister sites) to read real traveler reviews and see honest photos of the property.

“Grandparent” Travel Scams

You don’t have to be traveling to fall victim to a travel scam. The State Department warns that scammers often target the friends or relatives of someone on vacation, pretending to be the traveler in urgent need of help. With AI technology, they can even mimic a loved one’s voice with alarming accuracy. These scammers may pose as the traveler or a foreign government official, claiming that the victim must wire a large sum of money. They might say they’ve been robbed and need funds to return home or that they’ve been arrested and require bail. 

Sometimes the scammer will even pretend to be someone from the U.S. embassy calling on behalf of the relative for money. Never wire money in response to a suspicious phone call; instead, contact the State Department to ask if the situation is legitimate or call your relative directly.

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The FCC (Federal Communications Commission) offers the following advice to prevent “grandparent” travel scams:

• Never give out personal information such as account numbers, Social Security numbers, mothers’ maiden names, passwords, or other identifying information in response to suspicious calls or to callers demanding immediate action.
• Scammers can spoof the caller ID of their number to make it appear to be from a trusted source. If a caller claiming to represent a company or a government agency asks for personal information, hang up and verify the authenticity of the request by contacting the company or agency yourself, using the information found on its official website.
• If a caller claims to represent a company with which you have an account—such as a utility or a bank—hang up and check the contact information on a recent bill or statement, then call the company back yourself.

Rental Property Scam

Be cautious if someone you’ve connected with on a vacation rental site like Airbnb or VRBO offers a discount for booking outside the platform. Scammers often post fake listings and then convince victims to wire money to secure the rental—only to disappear. In other cases, they may pose as the property owner and have you send money to them instead of the legitimate owner.

Booking outside the platform means losing the protections and guarantees these sites provide. To avoid falling victim to a rental scam, always book through a reputable vacation rental site that offers security and insurance protections.

Currency Short-Changing

A longstanding travel scam relies on tourists’ unfamiliarity with a foreign currency. This can take various forms: counterfeit bills, miscounting change, mixing smaller bills into what should be a pile of larger notes, etc. Get to know the bills of any country you visit, and limit the amount of foreign currency you exchange and have with you at any time. To be even safer, get your foreign currency from an ATM and put all the purchases you can on a credit card.

Counterfeit Event Tickets

These days, high-tech forging can make almost any piece of paper or cardboard look authentic. Don’t buy a high-priced ticket (or even a low-priced one) to a sold-out event from someone on the street or via an unfamiliar website. You might be turned away at the gate. Buy from an authorized source—the box office or an online dealer that’s a verified reseller.

Fake Tour Guides

Have you ever been walking in a tourist-frequented area and had someone approach you offering to be your guide? You would have no idea whether this person has any useful knowledge of the city, or worse, if they’re leading you into danger.

Pre-arrange a guide through an official tourism office or a local travel agency so you can compare prices and know what you’re getting. 

Vacation Clubs

Wholesale travel clubs claim you’ll have access to incredibly cheap vacations if you join. However, once you pay the joining fees, you find that the deals offered aren’t any better than what you can find for yourself online—for free. Consumer advocate Christopher Elliott, whose book Scammed lays out a helpful roadmap for being a responsible and effective shopper in a world of corporate swindles, has told SmarterTravel: “I’ve never come across a legitimate travel club. My advice is to run, don’t walk.”

Elliott advises that anyone considering joining a travel club do research with a very critical eye beforehand. Simply doing an internet search for the name of the travel company plus “travel scam” will usually reveal plenty of problems experienced by other members. Also, check the Better Business Bureau (BBB) for complaints about the specific service before you buy.

Credit Card Fraud

One of many potential credit card fraud risks is the familiar “verification call” gambit. In this travel scam, within a few hours of checking into a hotel, you get a call from someone claiming to be at the front desk to “verify” the details of the card you used. Of course, that caller is a scammer with no connection to the hotel who just wants to get your card data. In this and any other situations, be highly suspicious of anyone who calls you asking for credit or debit card information, no matter how plausible the excuse may seem. Tell the caller you’ll be right down to settle the problem, and instead call a known number, like the hotel’s direct line, to settle whatever account is involved.

Timeshare Sales

Many people see timeshares as scams, but an even bigger deception comes from companies claiming to help owners escape them. These scammers often promise they have eager buyers lined up, only to vanish after collecting an upfront fee.

To protect yourself, never pay in advance for assistance in selling your timeshare. Instead, work with a licensed company and verify their reputation with the Better Business Bureau before listing. If selling proves difficult, consider renting out your timeshare through a reputable rental company to recoup some costs until you can find a buyer.

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