Among the periods preferred by hundreds of unscrupulous scammers, ready to take advantage of the naivety of unsuspecting victims who are not used to avoiding the numerous frauds that the web is full of, there is without a shadow of a doubt that of summer holidays. In fact, every year, millions of tourists from all over the world prepare to organize their trips to the most popular destinations well in advance, both to reduce the costs of flights and hotels and, obviously, to benefit from a wide choice.
So off to the “study” of the sites that bring together the best offers to understand how to navigate a decidedly saturated and sometimes treacherous market if you don’t have the right knowledge and tools to understand the quality of the offers available. What is certain is that always with the aim of saveespecially in recent years, holidaymakers tend to want to organize everything independently, from travel to connections and the booking of accommodation facilities in which to stay: relying on travel agencies is more expensive, even if on the other hand it allows not to have to worry excessively in the preparatory phase of the trip and to protect yourself from possible fraud.
For the most unwary it is difficult to navigate the pitfalls of the web and, despite the fact that it exists and has been documented for a long time, the so-called “holiday scam”, continues to claim thousands of victims every year who, in the worst case scenario, see their bank accounts emptied. However, with some precautions it is possible to try to protect yourself, also because the scam essentially always follows the same lines.
Fraudsters, obviously, generally focus on the most well-known and advantageous booking sites, where the number of prey is maximum and it is easier to calculate the probabilities to find the most vulnerable one: an example above all is Booking.com. Numerous users who use the portal’s services have received a message mentioning the cancellation of the reservation due to a payment refused. No fear, since the remedy is simple: just click on the link indicated in the text to forward the payment again. The problem is that the trap is triggered at this very moment: the link transfers the tourist to a portal that faithfully reproduces the graphic appearance of Booking.com.
Feeling safe, the user then enters the credit card details requested by the site and makes the payment, allowing the scammers not only to pocket the amount of the fake booking, but also to have the keys to empty the victim’s account.
The advice is always to never click on such links and, in case of doubts, contact the company that provides the booking services directly with the methods indicated on the portal.
