Travel scams, and how to avoid them

Even though traveling should be some of the best times of your life and be filled with only positive memories, there will always be fewer positive things. One of these things is travel scams. Everyone may experience it, but we hope this article will help you better prepare. This way you will have a smaller chance of dealing with these things during your vacation.

Why you are more vulnerable during traveling

Traveling takes you to an unfamiliar environment, with maybe a different type of currency or a language barrier. This makes you a higher risk for travel scams. In addition, traveling may cause you to feel hurried or nervous, which makes it more difficult to take your time and consider things.

Accommodation travel scams

Accommodation travel scams are one of the most common.  To avoid this, try only to use well-known websites when booking a holiday. Like Booking.com and Airbnb. Even though scams can still happen on one of these sites, they offer good customer support who will help you through it and protect your money. Avoid booking through Facebook. However, if you still decide to do it. Be aware of the consequences of this decision.

What to pay attention to

When using Facebook pay attention to the following:

• Be aware of profiles with little to no information. Look at their active history and not just from a few months ago. A lot of profiles get banned if they are caught providing scams.
• If the information provided by the account is inconsistent it should be a scam. Some profiles offer accommodations in two countries far from each other, this may be a scam.
• Look for properties with multiple high-quality photos, good descriptions, and reviews from previous guests. Also, contact the owner to ask for details.

Taxi scams

Except for accommodation scams, taxi scams are also common to happen. Be aware of taxis right in front of the airport or train station. A lot of taxis are waiting there to take advantage of jet-lagged or tired travelers. They often take advantage of tourists who are not familiar with the area, by charging them more than needed or even taking a longer way. To avoid this have a good idea of how long the ride is and how much it should cost on average.

Besides this, pay attention to the meter, and check if it goes up way faster than usual. Also which is even better, is to look up the cab companies available at your destination, like Uber and Bolt. By using these, you can ensure that you can still receive a cab directly from the train or airport and schedule the drive yourself.

Many other scams

Travel scams happen a lot, however, they can differ between countries. These were some of the most common and bigger scams. There are many more smaller ones to mention, some of these are:

• This is common in Europe: after striking up a little conversation, a kind person will put a bracelet around your wrist or offer you a little sprig of rosemary. After they will demand payment. They make a big deal out of your refusal, hoping that you'd rather pay them money than look foolish.
• Someone spills something on you. They are very sorry and offer to clean it up, but while they do they are emptying your pockets.
• You rent a motorbike or other vehicle. But when you come back from your day exploring, there is damage you didn't know about. They demand expensive repairs. To avoid this, always make sure to make photos of the vehicle, to show earlier damage that may be visible.
• A woman or a kid most of the time, trying to make you sign a petition. You have no idea what they are saying and instead of it being awkward you rather just sign it. However, the petition then demands a cash donation.
• People tend to give you the wrong change when you are in a country with a different type of currency. Mostly when bills look the same in color. Always check your change.

For all of these (little) scans be aware too. Keep your head cool and be wary of accepting anything for free. However, this is just a small part of the locals you can meet, luckily there are still many other nice people, who have good intentions whom you can still have a good time with, and who want to help you during your trip.

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