Travel booking sites advertise cheaper rates compared to booking directly through an airline. While you can save money by using a third-party site, you must keep a lookout for dangerous scams.
Scammers love to bank on the popularity of reputable websites and the story is no different when it comes to online travel agencies such as Booking.com, Expedia, Skyscanner and Priceline. Tap or click here to find out which brands hackers impersonate the most.
Bottom line: Never let your guard down when booking flights, hotels or rental cars through third-party platforms. Fake websites can be hard to spot. The best way to avoid common travel scams in 2022 is to prepare yourself before departure. Scroll down for the biggest red flags.
1. Your “airline” demands you pay to rebook a flight
Say you miss your flight. After a quick internet search, you find your airline’s official website. You head to the airline’s customer service section and call them up. You’re asked for your personal and payment information to rebook a flight. Once you fork over the cash, you try to confirm your booking.
But when you get to the airport or call the actual airline, there’s a chilling realization. Nobody booked you for another flight. In your haste to buy another seat on an airplane, you didn’t recognize that you were on a fake site.
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Most airlines will rebook you for free on the next flight to your…
