Beware: Travel portals are rife with scammers

Be careful when booking holidays online. © Keystone / Gaetan Bally

With just a few clicks, a dream holiday can transform into a nightmare.

Fraudsters try to scam money from holidaymakers with false advertisements. Even well-known booking platforms such as Booking or Expedia are not immune to this: the scammers try to lure their potential victims away from genuine portals and process the payment through other channels. The Cybercrimepolice platform of the Zurich Cantonal Police warns against this.

Fraudsters demand money transfers

The scam works in such a way that the holiday packages are published on the usual platforms but cannot be booked through them. Instead, the potential victims are asked to contact the alleged provider directly by e-mail, according to Cybercrimepolice. The amount to be paid is then to be transferred to a foreign bank account – or credit card details are demanded. The fraudsters pocket the cash but the hotel or the dream holiday flat does not exist.

Phishing in the name of booking portals, hotels or travel providers is also common. These e-mails or SMS or Whatsapp messages contain requests to update or verify credit card data. According to the warning from Cybercrimepolice, the fraudsters also use the booking history of customers when corresponding with potential marks. They obtain this information through security loopholes in the travel companies’ data infrastructure.

No money back

For travel law expert Reto Ineichen, it is hardly surprising that criminals are successful with such scams: “It’s all about our ideal of a nice holiday, which the fraudsters exploit. The small print or any warning signals seldom matter”.

The big problem with this kind of fraud is that the money cannot be recovered. 

“In most cases, it is impossible to find those responsible,” says Ineichen. 

And if it is possible, there is hardly anything that can be done against these persons or organisations from Switzerland.

Use your head

Falling for a scam is nothing to be ashamed of. If you have become a victim, you should definitely report it to the police. Nevertheless, you can sniff out a scam and avoid becoming a victim.

• If an offer sounds too good to be true, alarm bells should ring. Stop and ask yourself: Can this really be true? Ask people you know for their opinion.
• Another sign of fraud is time pressure: If they say the offer is only valid for a quarter of an hour, you’d better leave it alone.
• Do not let yourself be guided to other websites by offers on booking portals – only book offers via their own platforms.
• Be very careful with e-mails asking you to update your credit card details: This is usually a phishing attempt. Do not click on any links. If you are unsure, go to the official website of the respective company and log in there.