Beware of travel scams
Canadians are eager to get away and thieves are eager to take advantage of that. Online travel sites are playing on Canadians’ desires to book cheap airfare or a good deal on a cottage rental this summer.
“If someone is offering a vacation rental through social media and they are demanding you pay in cash or with a wire transfer, I wouldn't trust it," said Tony Anscombe, Chief security expert with ESET.
Online fraud has increased during the pandemic and a new survey by TransUnion found that in the digital world, financial services fraud increased 217 per cent and travel and leisure fraud increased by 49 per cent.
“The rate of attempted fraud is not just financial services; it is across different vectors," said Anne-Marie Kelly, spokesperson for TransUnion.
You could also land in trouble when you try to book what appears to be a deal on airfare, especially with an online travel company you have not dealt with before.
“We are getting reports on BBB Scam Tracker that consumers are stumbling into these fake websites,” said Karla Laird, senior manager for media and communications for the Better Business Bureau Mainland B.C.
Look-alike websites piggyback on legitimate company names. Even if they have a secure URL and list an actual physical address, it could be a fraud.
“Some of them will put contact information, even if it’s not legitimate, but just to give you that look and feel of legitimacy,” explained Laird.
McLaughlin on Your Side has exposed this ruse before by visiting Vancouver addresses listed by fraudulent websites. The businesses did not exist.
The bottom line: Know who you are dealing with, don’t communicate off the rental or booking platform, don’t pay with a wire or e-transfer and beware of high-pressure sales tactics to get you to pay now.
Once you have made a booking on a legitimate website and want to make changes, you should go back to the website to find the correct number to call.
Some consumers who have done a general online search for customer service numbers have landed on fake ones and ended up giving out personal information and handing over money for upgrades or changes they never get, giving their money to thieves.
With files from CTV’s Pat Foran
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING Honda to get up to $5B in govt help for EV battery, assembly plants
Honda is set to build an electric vehicle battery plant next to its Alliston, Ont., assembly plant, which it is retooling to produce fully electric vehicles, all part of a $15-billion project that is expected to include up to $5 billion in public money.
BREAKING New York appeals court overturns Harvey Weinstein's 2020 rape conviction from landmark #MeToo trial
New York’s highest court on Thursday overturned Harvey Weinstein’s 2020 rape conviction, finding the judge at the landmark #MeToo trial prejudiced the ex-movie mogul with improper rulings, including a decision to let women testify about allegations that weren’t part of the case.
Residents of northern Alberta First Nation told to shelter in place
Residents of John D'Or Prairie, a community on the Little Red River Cree Nation in northern Alberta, were told to take shelter Thursday morning during a police operation.
Monthly earnings rise, payroll employment falls: jobs report
The number of vacant jobs in Canada increased in February, while monthly payroll employment decreased in food services, manufacturing, and retail trade, among other sectors.
Doctors say capital gains tax changes will jeopardize their retirement. Is that true?
The Canadian Medical Association asserts the Liberals' proposed changes to capital gains taxation will put doctors' retirement savings in jeopardy, but some financial experts insist incorporated professionals are not as doomed as they say they are.
Secret $70M Lotto Max winners break their silence
During a special winner celebration near their hometown, Doug and Enid shared the story of how they discovered they were holding a Lotto Max ticket worth $70 million and how they kept this huge secret for so long.
Remains from a mother-daughter cold case were found nearly 24 years later, after a deathbed confession from the suspect
A West Virginia father is getting some sense of closure after authorities found the remains of his young daughter and her mother following a deathbed confession from the man believed to have fatally shot them nearly two decades ago.
Something in the water? Canadian family latest to spot elusive 'Loch Ness Monster'
For centuries, people have wondered what, if anything, might be lurking beneath the surface of Loch Ness in Scotland. When Canadian couple Parry Malm and Shannon Wiseman visited the Scottish highlands earlier this month with their two children, they didn’t expect to become part of the mystery.
Metro Vancouver mayors call for serial killer Robert Pickton to be denied parole
A dozen mayors from around Metro Vancouver say federal Attorney General and Justice Minister Arif Virani should deny parole for notorious B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton, and reassess the parole and sentencing system for 'prolific offenders and mass murderers.'