How to Make Sure Scammers Don’t Fly Away with your Money Next Time you Book a Vacation Online

Not all that long ago, we had to head into a travel agent’s before booking a trip away. Remember the days of vacation catalogs and smiling assistant? Remembering getting stung for a fortune on everything from flights to hotel and taxis? Ahh, those were the days!

Now, though, things couldn’t be more different. Instead of travel agents, most of us head online to book up. This means that there are more travel opportunities now than ever before.  Even better, we get to look for the best deals and book up whatever options seem most appealing to us. This can save us a fortune, and show us options which we could never have stumbled across otherwise. In short; online booking is a fantastic development for any keen travelers out there.

The only snag is that online scams are also now big business. This is no surprise given how much money we hand over for our trips away. Scammers are raking in cash here and could leave you out of wallet with nowhere to go. The good news is, there are ways to avoid falling foul here. Keep reading to find out what they are.

Avoid search advertisements

As soon as your computer catches wind of the fact that you want to go away, you’re going to get plenty of travel-based ads. The chances are that every one of these will boast of some new killer deal which you need to sign up for TODAY! The trouble is that these third-party and unheard of websites are often where scams come from. As a general rule, then, you would be best off avoiding any advertisement from a company you don’t know. If you do want to go down this route, always check the star rating under the listing. This will show whether or not they are a trusted and Google-verified company.

Research any company before buying

Even if you think you can trust a company, it’s always worth checking them out before parting with this much cash. For one, you should look to customer reviews which should, ideally, show a load of happy holidaymakers. Be sure, too, to seek out any negative reviews. This way, you can make sure there aren’t any accusations of fraud. It also helps to look at the company’s booking system. A professional online travel agency will allow you to pay through safe methods like Paypal. They’ll also check your identification using systems like Jumio. If you can’t see any sign of options like these, it’s a sure sign that a company isn’t as legitimate as they’d like you to believe.

Pay by credit card

As a general rule, it’s always worth paying by credit card in circumstances like these. That’s because credit cards generally have better fraud policies. That makes it far more likely that you’ll get your money back fast here. This step also ensures that a fraudster can’t clear out your entire account if they do get hold of your details. This step needn’t even cost you anything extra if you pay the full amount on your bill as soon as it arrives. Still, this small step can go a considerable way towards offering you some peace of mind which you just wouldn’t get otherwise.

Only ever give information once

This is a useful tip for anyone shopping online, especially for amounts as large as this. You should only ever have to enter your card details once during a transaction like this. If you receive a strange phone call asking for any type of verification, make sure not to oblige. Instead, decline and phone back the provider themselves to verify their identity. More often than not, you’ll find that the company in question aren’t the ones who have phoned you.

Call to confirm

Speaking of calling companies, you should also call to confirm as soon as you’ve completed your booking. Calling the hotel in question and checking that they have your details is all it takes here. More often than not, they’ll happily tell you that you’re all set to go. In some instances, though, calls like these reveal that the hotel has no details of your booking. In that case, you’ll be able to act fast to ensure that those fraudsters don’t even have a chance to clear you out. Even better, this ensures that you can book a legitimate vacation as soon as you get this mess cleared up. What could be better for recovering from that shock than some time in the sun?