AARP Fraud Watch Team Warns You of 5 Travel Scams

Patricia Frolander, 78, walked into the Rapid City, S.D., Regional Airport in April with a ticket to St. George, Utah. She was on her way to visit a dear friend — but never got there. “After a year of isolation in my small town in northeast Wyoming, I was ready to travel,” she recalls. But an airline employee broke the bad news: Her $398 ticket was for a nonexistent flight.

“I booked my trip through a travel agency website that looked legitimate,” Frolander says. The only red flag: fine print on page 5 of her ticket saying she couldn’t contest the reservation once purchased. “When my granddaughter checked online, she traced the website to a travel agency with a very bad history with the Better Business Bureau,” Frolander says. Her credit card company investigated and has agreed to refund her money.

As more Americans venture out of pandemic isolation after being vaccinated and head for long-awaited vacations and reunions with family and friends, they are whetting the appetite of a class of scam artists who target travelers, says Lois Greisman, director of the Federal Trade Commission’s Division of Marketing Practices.

Here’s how experts say you can avoid five current travel scams.

1. Free or rock-bottom deals

Phone calls, emails and postcards with enticing travel offers look tempting, but a deal that’s way under the value of a trip — like five nights in a hotel plus airfare to Maui for $200 — means it’s probably a scam, says Amy Nofziger, AARP anti-fraud expert.

Avoid this scam: Simply walk away from any deal that seems too good to be true. And if a company asks you to pay with a prepaid gift card instead of a credit card or debit card, it’s a scam, Nofziger says. Always work with a trusted travel agency or company that has a long, proven history of offering travel opportunities, she says.

2. Rental-car cons

Several travelers alerted AARP this spring to fake rental-car-company scams. Crooks set up phony customer service numbers online that look just like those of major rental-car companies. When you call, they take your money and personal information, then leave you stranded.

Avoid this scam: Before you call or click to reserve a car, verify that you’re calling the real customer service department, or that you’re on a legitimate rental-car-company website.

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