Travel can be one of life’s greatest and most enriching joys—often preceded by eager anticipation and met with euphoric excitement once a person plants his or her feet on new land.
The heady excitement, however, can be an opportunity for fraudsters to make a profit.
“We have to learn not to mix emotions with our travel planning,” Amy Nofziger of the AARP Fraud Watch Network told Fox News Digital in a phone interview.
“Don’t mix FOMO (fear of missing out) with any financial decision,” she said.
Nofziger is one of the country’s leading fraud experts.
She spoke before the US Senate last week in Washington, DC, about the fraud crisis sweeping America.
Crowds, frequent shopping, language barriers and heavy reliance on websites and apps have been reported to help make travelers particularly vulnerable to attackers.
“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 55,000 reports of fraud related to travel, vacation and timeshare plans in 2023,” Washington, DC-based AARP reported in May.
“Thirty percent of Americans have been scammed or know someone who has been scammed while booking or traveling, and 34% have lost $1,000 or more,” according to a 2023 survey by online security company McAfee.
Here are five signs that scammers may be trying to steal the excitement from your dream trip—and what to do about it.
1. Very friendly locals
Travelers can sometimes use friendly and informative locals to elevate a vacation experience.
European travel expert Rick Steves warned, however, about a group of people who may seem too friendly for a first date.
These scammers wear many types of camouflage.
It is a native who may offer unsolicited advice to divert your attention to pick your pocket.
It’s a good Samaritan who claims he or she found something you miss, while also working with unfriendly English.
And here’s the “attractive flirt,” Steves said, which can feed your ego to satisfy a cheater.
“Meet the Europeans,” says Steves on his blog, ricksteves.com.
“But beware of random encounters on the street.”
2. Deals that sound too good to be true
Offers that “sound too good to be true” are especially true in travel, experts warn, opening up opportunities for scams – everything from digital deals long before you leave for a trip to face-to-face scams in countries the foreigner.
“Everyone who wants to take a trip is looking for the best prices that can take their family on a dream vacation,” said Nofziger.
She continued, “So when the opportunity comes up that’s lower than what you saw advertised, you want to jump on it because you think you got a great deal. Scammers know this,” she added, “and that’s why they lure you in with those too-good-to-be-true quotes.”
Advertised rentals at far below market prices compared to similar offers in the same city, drivers promising to take you somewhere cheaper than a taxi ride, or online offers for an exclusive dream deal if “only act now” are all scams, experts say. .
3. Exchange rate hustlers
The value of a dollar varies greatly in different currencies and can be difficult to calculate in quick cash exchanges: taxi rides, takeout or a round of drinks at the bar.
A cup of coffee that costs 100 lira in Turkey is about $3 in US currency.
That same cup of coffee might sound like a deal the next day in Greece, when the cashier asks for “20” and you happily hand over a clean bill.
But 20 euros is about 17 dollars.
Currency converters in popular destinations only need to scam a few hurried travelers a day to earn a nice second income.
A good rule of thumb is to remember the exchange rate not in $1s, but in $10s and $100s—figures you’re most likely to spend in a single exchange.
In Turkey, 340 lira is about $10 at current rates; in Greece, 9 euros is also about 10 dollars.
It’s easier to tell if you’re being scammed when you can do the math on $10s in your head instead of $1s.
4. Credit card fraud
Credit card exchanges should be smooth and flawless almost anywhere in the world – maybe even less of a hassle than in the US
Many Europeans, for example, used tap-and-go credit cards before most Americans.
Every little hiccup is a red flag, experts say.
Your credit card has to be deleted several times because “the machine has problems,” or the clerk has to manually enter the credit card number – or asks for additional personal information.
These are all potential scam attempts.
Steve cautioned that the person taking your card should only focus on you.
“Beware of store cashiers who appear to be on the phone when you hand over your credit card,” he wrote online.
“They can covertly take a picture of your card. Consider paying cash for smaller purchases.”
5. The hard sell
If you’re wary of the hard sell in a familiar situation at home, you should show the same skepticism overseas, no matter how much you want that souvenir, trendy outfit, or Mediterranean sailing adventure.
“Wherever there’s a dollar, there’s a criminal or someone else trying to take that dollar from you,” Nofziger said.
“We have to practice our rejection scenarios. We need to learn how to say no and be empowered to say “No”.
Experts show that the excitement of travel can override the normal thought process.
An opportunity that meant nothing at home suddenly sounds exotic in a new place or even when you plan to get there.
The hard sell can be done online as well as in person.
“Fake travel deals can arrive through email, text messages, social media, postcards, robocalls and online advertisements,” AARP reported online.
“Even if they look real – some scammers copy the logos of legitimate businesses. Treat these offers with extreme caution.”
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