BBB warns about vacation scams

With the potential of new travel opportunities coming for Canadians, this also means vacation scams are on the rise. The Better Business Bureau says to watch out for fraud involving free vacations, hotel scams, and third party booking site scams. The BBB is warning vacationers to be wary and offered tips on how to best protect yourself from being taken advantage of.

To help ensure a business is legit, the BBB says to take a look at a company’s social media accounts to make sure that they align with information on the company’s website.

There are a few scams that have been making the rounds lately.

Vacation Rental Cons: For properties that don’t exist, and aren’t for rent. They can also have a different look in person to the pictures that are online.

“Free” Vacation Offers: The BBB says these offers are usually too good to be true. If a travel company offers a “free vacation, they usually end up costing the vacationer a lot of money. This includes add-on fees, taxes, levies, and other charges.

Hotel Scams: If you book a hotel, scammers use ways to get credit card information. Some of the ways they do this is through fake front desk calls and the option of “free” Wi-Fi connections.

Third-Party Booking Sites Scam: Be wary of booking air travel or hotels through third-party websites. These sites can be scams that are run by fraudsters.

Timeshare Reselling Cons: A timeshare owner will get a call from a person who says they are a real estate agent. The fraudsters promise they have buyers ready. In order to secure the service, the scammer looks for an upfront fee. The timeshare owner will pay, but the agent won’t deliver.

To report a scam, you can visit https://www.bbb.org/scamtracker