Here’s how fake travel sites are secretly scamming you

After a year without vacations, some people are out of practice with booking travel, and scammers are taking advantage of this. The Better Business Bureau has seen an increase in scams involving travel booking sites that look real but are fake. These sites are traps to steal your money and personal information. Here are some tips to help you avoid these scams.

How the scam works

While searching online for cheap flights or hotels, you might find a deal that seems too good to be true. You book the flight or hotel using your credit card, either on the website or by calling a customer support number. After booking, you get a confirmation email, but it doesn’t include your ticket or reservation.

In some cases, you’ll get a call from a “representative” asking for extra fees to complete the booking. Later, when you contact the airline or hotel, you’ll find out they have no record of your reservation.

Fake travel sites are getting better at scamming people

Fake booking sites have been around for a long time, but they are getting harder to spot. These sites now look a lot like real low-budget travel websites. They have working search tools that let you pick a city, set travel dates, and choose from deals that seem like great bargains. Many of these sites even have features like auto-complete, suggesting destinations as you type.

Even though these fake booking sites look polished, they are often quickly built and poorly maintained. If you know what to look for, you can still spot the red flags. Here are some warning signs from a confirmed scam site:

  • Some destinations are listed as regions or states instead of cities, like “Alabama.” Occasionally, airline names, like “Westjet,” are spelled wrong.
  • Logos for VISA, Discover, and Mastercard are low-quality and use outdated designs.
  • The site displays a “DMCA” security shield. However, DMCA is about copyright claims, not internet security, which doesn’t make sense on a travel booking page.
  • There’s an FAQ page that works, but it’s full of typos and confusing sentences, as if it was written to look real but not actually be useful.

How to avoid fake booking sites

The Better Business Bureau (BBB) suggests researching any website you don’t recognize before sharing your personal information. You can start by checking BBB.org for reviews and feedback from other customers.

Always double-check the website’s URL before entering your credit card information. Look for “https://” and a padlock icon in the address bar to make sure the site is secure. Be cautious of websites that look cheap or poorly made.

If you’ve been scammed by a fake airline ticket or travel site, report it at BBB.org/ScamTracker.