0:02
You are set for vacation. You are packed
0:05
and ready to go. But you're not going
0:07
anywhere because the trip you booked,
0:10
you booked through a scammer.
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What we're seeing around this time is a
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significant increase in uh scams around
0:20
uh travel. So, um, websites
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impersonating airlines, hotel chains, or
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other travel related websites. And it's
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not just one or two scattered sites on
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the internet. A cyber security company
0:35
called Brand Shield has tracked
0:37
thousands of suspicious sites targeting
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major travel brands. In the last year,
0:42
it found over 11,000 fake Delta Airlines
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online domains. more than 1,900 fake
0:50
Hilton Hotel domain registrations and
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over 2300 phony Southwest Airline domain
0:57
registrations. Usually what you'll see
0:59
is that they'll have this special offer
1:02
or something that is limited in time and
1:05
they'll try to pressure you to take
1:08
action very quickly. The phony ads can
1:11
look pretty darn good. This fake Expedia
1:14
ad was found on Facebook. Other fake
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sites like this phony Delta ad or fake
1:19
American Airlines website have the wrong
1:22
URL address. They're hoping that you
1:25
don't notice it's not the real corporate
1:27
address. That's another common scammer
1:29
trick. How does the average consumer
1:32
figure out that they're looking at like
1:33
a fake website, an imitation or an
1:37
Before you buy, go to the actual main
1:40
website of that company. Verify that it
1:42
is. You know, you can search in a few
1:43
places on search engines and so on.
1:45
verify that it is the real website and
1:47
try to find the same special offer. It's
1:52
going to be there. If it's not there,
1:56
Travel scams can sometimes come at you
1:58
indirectly in the form of unsolicited
2:02
If someone sends you these links through
2:05
text messages or uh instant messaging
2:08
like uh WhatsApp or Messenger, be very
2:11
careful. There's a good chance it's a
2:13
scam. So don't don't rely even if you
2:14
see on the social media a friend posting
2:17
And scammers are now using artificial
2:20
intelligence to make the fraud look more
2:23
You might see images of places that do
2:26
not exist of uh apartments that are not
2:29
there or hotels that are not there.
2:31
If you have been the victim of a travel
2:34
scam, act quickly. Protect yourself.
2:36
Contact your bank. Report the fraudulent
2:38
charges. Contact your credit card
2:40
company and see if they will stop those
2:42
payments. In addition, because many of
2:44
these scams originate overseas, contact
2:47
the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint
2:50
Center. That's ic3.com. Because they
2:53
have the resources to track these people
2:55
internationally working for you. I'm the
2:58
consumer guy, CeRasia.
