Fraud Tip of the Day - May 6

Travel Scam Tips

• Be wary of offers "free" trip offers. If you are see an offer for a free trip or vacation and decide to respond, be ready for a sales pitch. The free trip offers are usually marketing ploys designed to lure you to them so that you can be hard sold on products or services you don't want or need. That trip isn't free if you have to buy something first.
  
  
• Unsolicited travel offer emails. Most of these are total scams. If you didn't ask for it, don't respond. If you're interested and have never heard of the company making the exciting offer, don't respond. Our advice is that you never respond to unsolicited emails. Ever.
  
  
• Read the fine print. That awesome vacation package may have hidden fees lurking in the fine print. Read it. That's what it's there for. For instance, the cruise may be free, but you have to pay to fly to the departure point and stay in a hotel at your own expense. Or you may have to endure a long, high-pressure sales pitch for a timeshare or travel club membership as part of the trip.
  
  
• Is this travel deal a real bargain? Consider that the deal may not be as good as you think. You may find that a travel offer requires you to make reservations through a specific company and that the costs are higher than they would be if you used your own travel agent or made the arrangements yourself. Or the offer may be valid only if you bring a companion along at full fare. Once again, read the fine print.
  
  
• Are there restrictions? What good is that vacation deal if you can't use it when you need to? Often the best travel deals are only available for off-peak times, not during school vacations, holidays or other popular travel dates. You may find it hard to get the promised price for the dates that you want to travel, or there may be no space available on those dates at all.
  
  
• Confirm all arrangements and reservations. If transportation and hotel are included in the travel package, ask how to contact those companies and confirm with them directly that the reservations have been made.
  
  
• Do some research before you make a purchase. It's easy to get information from a local travel agent and other sources such as newspapers, books, and the Internet. You may be able to get the trip you want for far less than the "bargain" price a company is offering. In other words, do your due diligence.
  
  
• Pay for travel with your credit card. Fraudulent travel operators take the money and run, and even legitimate companies can suddenly go out of business. Credit cards are the safest way to pay for online purchases because you can dispute the charges if you never get the services you were promised or the offer was misrepresented. Federal law limits your liability to $50 if someone makes unauthorized charges to your account, and most credit card issuers will remove them completely if you report the problem promptly. There are new technologies, such as "substitute" credit card numbers and password programs, that can offer extra measures of protection from someone else using your credit card. For more information about paying safely online, go to www.nclnet.org/shoppingonline and www.nclnet.org/essentials/security.html
  
  

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