The travel industry is at its best right now, which is all the more reason for you to be cautious while travelling. You can be tricked by a phoney takeaway menu, small change, counterfeit money, find yourself without your travel documents, or be the victims of a serious crime. Encountering such situations, or getting scammed while on vacation is an absolute bummer. Learn the signs to evade confident scammers. Be on your guard, keep an eye, and don’t fall victim to the below travel scams.
Counterfeit Money
You can fall prey to this type of scam in smaller establishments like restaurants, cafes, or taxis. At the end of your meal or ride, after you pay up, the employee can hand back your cash payment. They claim that you’ve paid using counterfeit money. The truth is they managed to switch the currency when you were looking away. Avoid this by keeping your gaze at the cashier or cabbie. Keep change handy and use exact change to pay your bills. Familiarise yourself with the denominations and colours of the local currency. Alternatively, you can also use contactless payment where possible.
Broken Taxi Meter
Getting around a city in a taxi is one of the easiest and most time-saving ways to explore it. But it is also one of the trickiest since you wouldn’t know the base or least fare. Hence watch out for cabbies that demand a flat or inflated fare, or are hesitant to switch on the meter. Such fares tend to be higher than metered fares. This is prevalent in most parts of the world like Nepal, India, and Central America. How to avoid this scam: Research about the authorised and licensed taxi companies operating in the city. Find out the accepted taxi rate in advance. Remember to discuss if the driver will be using the meter. Negotiate and agree on a fare before beginning your trip.
Vehicle Rental Scam
Renting a vehicle- car or motorbikes, can be a great way to explore every nook and cranny of a city. Watch out here as when you return the vehicle, the owner might demand additional payments to repair damages that were already there, but you failed to notice. This is prominent in Thailand, Vietnam, the Philippines, Greece, Bahamas, Italy, and Mexico. Save yourselves from this scam by online reviews of local rental companies to stay away from f bogus brands. Take photos or make a detailed video of the vehicle before driving it away from the rental centre. Ensure your travel insurance covers any such costs that may come up.
Phishing emails from Booking sites
If you’ve booked using a booking site, watch out for any phishing emails. Such emails require you to make a phone call or click on a link. It could be from scammers impersonating famous booking sites, claiming there was an issue with your orders. In any case, never provide your banking details or transfer money as there won’t be a guarantee on the funds or disputes. Always make bookings from reliable and renowned sites that have customer reviews, customer support, and a secured web address. Run a search and find forums to know if the booking site is genuine. Check with the hotel to know if your booking has been processed.
Souvenir Switcharoo
While selecting souvenirs or expensive items from stalls, the shopkeeper will try to distract you. They'll switch your pick with something else of a lesser value or low quality. And when you unwrap your pick later, you realise that it is not what you had paid for. Watch out for this scam in European countries, the Middle East, China and Turkey. How to avoid the ‘switcharoo’ travel scam. Keep an eye on your purchase. Ask for the shopkeeper to gift wrap or pack it in front of you. Make sure he doesn’t disappear and return with your gift wrapped or packed. Double-check your buy before leaving the store or stall.
Juice Jacking
In the juice jacking scam, the private and sensitive information from your phone is leaked when you use a public USB port to charge your phone. Criminals remove the USB ports, replacing these with infected cables and loading malware. While your phone charges, it also drains your sensitive information to scammers. Avoid this scam by investing in a good portable power bank that gives up to 2-3 full charges. Or connect your device to a USB data blocker, that allows the device to charge while blocking data transfer. Or, you can use an AC power outlet instead of using the USB charging stations.
Fake Airline Sites
Beware of cheap tickets. A scammer can set up a fake website with fake customer service numbers. They'll insist you pay through prepaid cards. If you do end up buying a ticket from such sites, you’ll never receive your ticket details or you’ll show up at the airport to learn there is no record of your reservation. Buy tickets from trusted travel websites, renowned companies or directly from the airlines to avoid such scams.
