from ghost housing to phishing, all the traps

The holidays are approaching and the dream, for Italians, is to leave. Towards seaside, mountain or art cities destinations. The important thing is to unplug. Second Federalberghithere will be 10.5 million who will leave (or have already left) for the holidays Easter. And there are many more who are thinking about how to make the most of the long weekend of April 25th and the nearby summer holidays. However, holidaymakers have to deal with prices which, needless to say, are skyrocketing due to expensive flights and expensive hotels. To save a little, fewer and fewer people turn to travel agencies. Most people go crazy online looking for unmissable offers and last minutes. The temptation of easy holiday and the organization of the trip from the comfort of home affects everyone. But the spread of these operations has also revealed the proverbial “dark side”, the other side of the coin. As simple as it is to book your holiday online, it is equally easy to be scammed. And the rush for last minute Easter bookings is already seeing a spike in cases.

THE COMPLAINTS

They are on the rise consumers who report houses rented out without the knowledge of the owners, others even non-existent, accommodations painted as luxury villas which later turned out to be little more than “shacks”. In short, the scam is just around the corner. I am the one to warn travellers Booking.com and the State Police who for the first time, through the specialized division of the Postal Police, have undertaken a collaboration to help holidaymakers book online but safely. The trend of online scams is constantly growing. While in 2019 there were 12,809 reports to the Postal Police, in 2022 they reached 15,699. According to the latest data, in 2023 scams on the web exceeded 16,000. In just four years the reports they grew by 25%. “Scammers target everyone, whether they’re booking a hotel, buying a dress or posting on social media. This is why we continue to invest in the protection of customers and accommodation facilities – explains Alberto Yates, regional director of Booking.com – We do this by informing the facilities about the types of scams we are aware of and, at the same time, providing our customers practical advice”. It is Massimo Bruno, director of the Financial Cybercrime Division of the Postal and Communications Police Service, who explains how in recent months there has been a growing spread of predatory conduct carried out through the most varied types of fraud now consumed, almost exclusively, via the internet.

PLAN

To protect the tourists Booking and the police have drawn up a handbook with five simple recommendations for booking online in complete safety. First of all, you need to keep your personal information private. Never share your credit card details via social media message, cell phone text message or email. Ideally, you should always pay through secure sites or, better yet, upon arrival at the accommodation facility. The second piece of advice is to “double” the security: many platforms and credit card providers make two-factor authentication available to customers. Once activated, instead of simply typing the password, the customer will be asked to complete a second step to access their account, such as entering a code received via text message. This simple additional step allows you to significantly increase security.

THE CONTROLS

For example, if a facility asks for payment outside of the agreed terms or if you receive a poorly worded email requesting you to share personal data, it could be a scam (so-called phishing). If in doubt, it is always best to contact customer service or the facility directly to verify the veracity of the message. And finally, don’t get tired of checking and rechecking an offer that is too tempting. If you come across a beach house at a bargain price, before booking, carefully check all the reviews of the property but also the URL of the website. There is little that can be done: beautiful things cost money. It is therefore better to stay away from heavenly low cost destinations above all. To save without sacrificing comfort, the experts’ advice is to plan your trip out of season.

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