A lady in Tennessee smiled broadly when she saw the offer come off the fax machine at work.
It appeared to be the same letterhead the corporate travel office used. She assumed the offer of a deeply discounted trip was a kind of company perk, and she quickly booked it.
Unfortunately, it was a travel scam.
The promises of five-star tropical luxury "for a small handling fee" disappeared as quickly as her money.
That is one of many case studies from the bulging travel scam files at the U.S. Federal Trade Commission. Go to its counterpart agencies in other industrialized nations, and you're likely to find similar piles of scam stories.
In an age when everyone is trying to find the best possible travel deal, scores of unscrupulous operators will try to separate you from your money. They'll provide, at best, disappointing arrangements.
The vast majority of these "deals" share similar characteristics, making them fairly easy to spot and avoid.
There are some simple ways you can keep away from the victim file.
If you've shopped for a car, you've probably heard the irritating question "what can I do to put you in this vehicle today?"
The idea is to close the deal before a buyer can come up with objections. It's not always a dishonest ploy. But in the travel arena, it should raise red flags of caution.
FTC attorneys recommend you become very skeptical of any deal that must be booked immediately.
Interestingly, many of those immediate deals often involve trips that are at least two months in the future. Why? Many credit cards have a 60-day limit on challenges for purchases. They want you to recognize your fate only after that time has expired.
Another red flag should fly when the company wants to do business only with courier services. Many times, the aim is to avoid mail fraud statutes associated with postal services.
Here's another common sign of trouble: when the names of the seller and travel provider differ. In that case, chances are good you're dealing either with a telemarketer or some other go-between who does not have your best interests at heart.
High-pressure tactics, lengthy delivery delays, and multiple dealers should raise your scam suspicions. But there are more subtle techniques designed to separate you from your money, too.
Some travel scams leave you with nothing. Others promise you great things, and deliver garbage. Still others make good on the promises if you pay hidden add-on charges.
Let's start with the ones that are complete frauds. They are easily avoided if you pay by credit card and insist that the provider is bonded or a member of a reputable travel society. If any of those conditions cause the slightest irritation at the other end of the deal, scram.
Others will deliver on their offer of a Bahamas vacation, and nothing else. Consider the story of a Missouri couple: They were promised a top hotel. What they received was a room with no air conditioning, no carpeting and no access to the beach.
"This whole vacation experience was a nightmare, and absolutely nothing like what was represented by the company," the woman told the Federal Trade Commission.
Click "next" to look at how people are fighting back when such rip-offs are the consequence of travel bookings.
