Travel scams on the rise: Here’s how to stay safe while planning your summer vacation

It’s the start of the summer travel season, and scammers are taking advantage of travelers booking their vacations online.

It’s the start of the summer travel season, and scammers are taking advantage of travelers booking their vacations online.

It’s the start of the summer travel season, and scammers are taking advantage of travelers booking their vacations online.

It’s the start of the summer travel season, and scammers are taking advantage of travelers booking their vacations online.

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — It’s the start of the summer travel season, and scammers are taking advantage of travelers booking their vacations online by utilizing artificial intelligence (AI) to create fake websites impersonating major travel brands.

Yoav Keren, CEO of BrandShield, a digital risk protection company, said these scams often begin with targeted social media ads offering huge discounts, luring users into booking their trips through copycat websites.

“It (AI) allows scammers and cybercriminals to create content in a much easier way,” Keren said. “They can create videos, images, content for websites, websites very quickly, very easily.”

Keren shared with ABC11 several suspicious travel websites that his company detected. Two appear to be major airlines, and another appears to be a popular travel booking site.

“These scam websites will either just steal your money or will infiltrate your system, and you’ll definitely not get the room or the plane ticket that you were that you were hoping for,” he added.

In 2024, according to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), consumers lost $274 million to travel scams, with the average loss just under $1,000.

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Keren warns that it’s not just money that scammers are after, but your personal information, such as frequent flier miles or hotel rewards

“They can definitely try to use your credentials for whatever hotel chain you’re a member of or your airline and steal your points,” Keren said.

When using search engines to plan trips, Keren says you need to be extra careful clicking on the first link you see.

“In some cases, when you see ads on Google or other search engines, those ads sometimes come up as a 1-800 number or customer service number for a certain airline or a hotel, especially when your flight is canceled or something like that, and these are many times scams. Be very careful, make sure you are calling the right number, double check it, make sure you reached the right website,” Keren adds.

To protect your money when booking any kind of travel, don’t pay until you read the fine print. If you’re not booking directly with the airline or hotel, use extreme caution when booking through a third-party travel website. Make sure you look at the cancellation policy to see whether the trip is refundable.

Other red flags include being messaged through social media or text about travel deals. This makes it even easier for scammers to get your money, even if you pay with a credit card.

“One of the new ways they’re using is they will not necessarily immediately charge your credit card. They’ll start communicating with you. And you might get some text asking you for some codes,” Keren said. “Now, they will not necessarily immediately charge your phone, your card, and they will charge it down the road in a few weeks.”

Paying with a credit card always offers the most protection when it comes to fraud.