Hello World! Welcome Friends! Whenever you travel, whether it’s to another country or another state, you must be on the lookout for scams. People with bad intentions are everywhere, and to protect yourself and your information, you have to be savvy about booking your trips online and know what to look out for when you visit in person. Here are ten smart ways to protect yourself and your loved ones from encountering or falling prey to a scam.
1. Research Your Trip Ahead of Time
Everyone needs a vacation. Because taking time off can actually increase your productivity at work, it’s a good idea to travel to new places and experience new things. Once you decide where to go, start researching everything in that region. Look for hotels, restaurants, activities and more. You might even want to look up common scams in the area, so you know what to look out for if someone stops you while you’re out and about. Doing research before you go can help you feel prepared in so many ways.
2. Read Everything Thoroughly
Before you pay or sign something, even if you’re sure it’s trustworthy, ensure that you can read the terms of what you’re signing. If the document is in another language, make sure you request a translation in the language you’re most fluent in. Once you know what you’re signing or paying for, you’ll be able to continue your task with a clearer idea of what will happen.
3. Check the URL
Sometimes, a link you follow to book an experience or a getaway might be a scam. You need to carefully study the URL. Is the website secure? What does the text on the website look like? Professional businesses typically have web pages free of typos and grammatical errors, while scams might be full of them. Don’t enter any personal information until you can confirm that the website is legitimate.
4. Follow the Reviews
Reviews can be immensely handy when figuring out where to go and what to do in places you’re unfamiliar with. Use a trusted website to look at user reviews, where they might tell you the good and bad of a certain service or establishment. Make sure to check these reviews ahead of time — meaning that if you’re planning your adventure itinerary, you need to check the reviews of each place before you even leave home.
5. Look for Urgency
Typically, when someone or something urges you to provide your confidential information as quickly as possible to claim some prize, it’s a scam that may lead to fraud. Reputable businesses will willingly answer any questions you have, especially if you win something legitimately. People who rush you into making a decision or providing your personal information are likely trying to get you to sign up for a scam. These kinds of scams can happen both in person and online, so make sure to watch out for them when traveling.
6. Don’t Use Alternate Forms of Payment
When you’re booking something to do with your travel online, you may come across scammers who ask you to pay them a certain way, such as through gift cards or cryptocurrency. You’ll want to avoid these people, as these methods of paying for something likely won’t result in you getting your money back. Stick to a secure method of payment whenever you’re purchasing something.
7. Talk to People You Trust
Before you visit a new destination, think of anyone you know who may have gone to the same place. You can ask them for recommendations directly, and they may be able to tell you what to avoid and where the scams are. By getting a direct recommendation from a person you trust, it shows that the company did something to stand out so much that people continue to talk about it. Since it left a good impression on them, you can be sure that it’ll do the same for you.
8. Keep Your Valuables Close
In some areas, you may need to worry about people trying to pickpocket you. In these cases, it might be better to store your valuables in a bag and wear it under your outerwear. Even if you’re not too worried about pickpockets, you should take the same care to conceal your valuables. Scammers might approach you and try to trick you out of your belongings or intimidate you into giving them up. When all else fails, try to make yourself look less of a target by leaving your valuable possessions at home.
9. Watch Out for Wi-Fi
You might be used to deleting your cookies after searching for certain airline tickets or hotel prices, but when you’re traveling, you still need to watch out for the Wi-Fi you connect to. Over public Wi-Fi, criminals can steal any sensitive information you enter online, leading to potentially stolen identities or a drained bank account. The best way to mitigate this kind of danger, which you may not even be able to predict or avoid, is to have a Wi-Fi hotspot that you can use for yourself. You should spend so much time enjoying the sights that you don’t even need to be on Wi-Fi that often!
10. Report Scams to Protect Others
Once you know something is a scam, report it to the FTC or your state’s attorney general. That way, they can deal with the scam, and fewer people will face it as they travel. When you report that you suspect you’ve been scammed, you’re doing your part to decrease travel scams for everyone else involved.
Be Prepared for the Worst, But Expect the Best
Just because travel scams are common doesn’t mean that you’ll run into one. Even so, you should be prepared to look out for scams when traveling or planning to travel. Once you know what you’re up against, you’ll be able to discern a scam from a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. When you become a scam-savvy traveler, you’ll be able to enjoy your time abroad without worrying too much about your personal information being stolen.
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Toodles,
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