Online travel booking was a £350 billion industry in 2021 and that figure is set to grow to nearly £700 billion by 2025. But with more than 50% of all travel bookings done by individuals online, comes an increase in the number of scammers targeting unsuspecting travel bargain hunters.
Don’t be alarmed as most travel bookings are carried out online without a hitch, but it is important to take precautions and be alert as there will be signs.
So what should you look out for?
- Firstly, are you using a reputable travel portal? The likes of Airbnb and Booking.com do have stringent security measures set up for people using their sites. But it is important to stay within the platform, particularly when you are making payments. Don’t let the host persuade you to make any money transfers directly into their bank account or into a holding account. If you do this, you will lose all protection offered by the platform against scammers.
- Don’t let any ‘hosts’ send you links to websites to make payments, even if it looks like the portal you are using. Scammers can create fake websites to persuade customers they are still booking through the reputable site.
- Is the deal too good to be true? If a large modern apartment, with views of the Eiffel Tower from a wraparound terrace is available all summer, then there should be alarm bells. If a luxury villa in Marbella for 10 people being offered for the price of a two-bedroom apartment, then you should be wary. If the deal is too good to be true, then it probably is.
- Be aware of any brand-new listing that don’t have any reviews. Of course, these are not always scams, but if there are other red flags surrounding this property, then it might be one to avoid.
When you are researching the property you want to book and the host you are booking with, then you could pop a photo of the property into a Google search. Go to images.google.com and insert the link to the image you have found or upload the image and see if it appears in a completely unrelated site. This is a great trick if you are a little suspicious about a particular listing.
If you are using online travel money portals, it is also extremely important to make sure you do your homework and use a trustworthy company. Travel Fx has a first-class reputation for providing a trusted and reliable service. We have 13 years of experience in providing our customers with a gold standard alternative service to banks, bureau de change and the Post Office. You can order your travel money online and it is delivered to your door on the day you need it by a Royal Mail insured Special Delivery. More than 14,000 customers have rated the Travel FX service ‘excellent’ on Trust Pilot.
Do your homework and you will enjoy happy holidays.
