Beware of Summer Scams

The scammers aren’t taking the summer off. Conmen and fraudsters have a litany of scams that they are just waiting to unleash on unsuspecting Americans who can’t wait to leave their houses as travel restrictions relax across the country. Be on the lookout for these summer scams:

Disappearing vacation rentals 
Scammers capitalize on the popularity of vacation properties rented out on legit sites like Airbnb and Vrbo (Vacation Rentals by Owner) by offering online or via social media properties that don't exist, don't belong to them or don't measure up to the gorgeous photos.
Avoid this scam: Keep all of your interactions with a vacation property's owners on the website of legitimate companies. A request to take your conversation off the site is a sign of a likely scam. If a property has few reviews or seems too good to be true, search the address online, or check it on Google Maps.
 
Rental-car cons:
Several travelers alerted AARP this spring to fake rental-car-company scams. Crooks set up phony customer service numbers online that look just like those of major rental-car companies. When you call, they take your money and personal information, then leave you stranded.
Avoid this scam: Before you call or click to reserve a car, verify that you're calling the real customer service department, or that you're on a legitimate rental-car-company website.

Cruise Scams
The classic cruise con starts with an email or call (often automated) with news that you’ve won a free cruise — as a sweepstakes prize, a special offer from a travel company or a “reward” for taking a brief survey. You might be asked to provide a Social Security number to reserve your spot, or credit card details to cover nominal booking or processing fees.
What you’re actually signing up for is a barrage of sales pitches and additional charges, such as taxes, port fees and onboard gratuities. By departure time, your “free” trip might cost more than if you’d simply booked directly with the cruise line or a travel agent. That’s if there’s a trip at all: Some cruise offers are just ploys to get the requisite data to steal your money or identity, or to harvest contact information that is shared with spam-spewing marketers.
Avoid this scam: Don’t give personal or financial information to a travel company that contacts you out the blue with the promise of a free or discount cruise offer or a refund for a canceled trip. Don’t pay to claim a contest prize. If you truly won a free cruise, it should include all taxes and fees, according to the National Consumers League.
Don’t succumb to pressure to move quickly on a “time restricted” cruise deal. Don’t share or follow links from social media posts that promise cruise tickets for taking a survey. And finally, don’t click on attachments in unsolicited cruise or travel emails. They could unleash malware that scours your computer for personal and financial data.

Free or rock-bottom deals
Phone calls, emails and postcards with enticing travel offers look tempting, but a deal that's way under the value of a trip — like five nights in a hotel plus airfare to Maui for $200 — means it's probably a scam, says Amy Nofziger, AARP anti-fraud expert.
Avoid this scam: Simply walk away from any deal that seems too good to be true. And if a company asks you to pay with a prepaid gift card instead of a credit card or debit card, it's a scam, Nofziger says. Always work with a trusted travel agency or company that has a long, proven history of offering travel opportunities, she says.

To see the AARP Fraud Watch Network’s Amy Nofzinger talk about avoiding summer scams on the Kelly & Ryan Show, click here.  
 
To stay current with information about trending scams and how to avoid getting conned, visit the AARP Fraud Watch Network.