Have you ever gotten an email from a friend claiming to be stuck in a foreign country and needing you to send cash? Well if you fell for that one, I’ve got a deal with a Nigerian prince you might be interested in.
You need to educate yourself on the different types of travel scams that are out there. One of the primary agencies tracking financial scams is the Federal Trade Commission. Their latest program is called “Travel Unravel”. They’ve uncovered scams involving failure to disclose the actual cost of travel packages, free trip scams that involve charging fees, and failing to disclose that a timeshare presentation is part of a package or even a contest.
Another great resource out there is a website called consumerist.com. They spotlight the latest scams and rip-offs so this website is a wealth of information. Even our own state department has it’s own fraud warning page along with resources on who to contact if you think you’ve been scammed.
Last but not least, if you think you’ve been ripped off by a travel company, contact me.
And if you want to learn more online travel scams, as well as find out about travel packages, prizes and deals that are not what they seem, check out these articles:
- To learn about online travel scams, check out Avoiding Travel Scams, Part One
- Find out why some of the best travel packages are not always what they seem: Avoiding Travel Scams, Part Two
- For more great tips on avoiding travel scams, check out Travel Detective Blog: Avoiding Classic Travel Scams
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