Summer travel scammers are becoming more notorious.
A couple relax on deckchairs in the warm weather in Hyde Park on July 18, 2014 in London, England. The Met Office has issued a heatwave alert as temperatures soar to their highest of the year.
As of writing, travelers are price sensitive because of the persistent inflation across the globe. Although domestic airfare costs didn't change, restaurant prices and hotel rates are increasing.
Now, malicious actors are taking advantage of this situation, especially since travelers are now relying on the internet to find travel bargains.
Summer Travel Scams Becoming Rampant
According to Forbes' latest report, McAfee revealed that around 56% of travelers are commonly using the internet to look for travel discounts.
Airline passengers, some not wearing face masks following the end of Covid-19 public transportation rules, sit during an American Airlines flight operated by SkyWest Airlines from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) in California to Denver, Colorado, on April 19, 2022.
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Over 35% of them said that they would use unknown booking sites just to get a good travel bargain. Of course, this mindset will clearly put them at risk of scams. McAfee Senior Vice President Steve Grobman said that going on a vacation is one of the highest expenses people have every year.
"So especially in tight economic times, there's this natural instinct to really look for a deal, to get the biggest bang for your buck," explained Grobman.
However, he warned that the current mindset of travelers and the ease that cyber attackers have would likely lead to scamming opportunities.
Outsmarting Travel Scammers
McAfee published its latest Safe Summer Holidays Travel Report on Thursday, May 18. The security software company revealed that around 30% of adults fall victim to travel scams.
McAfee also claimed that 34% of these travel scam victims lost over $1,000 before their vacations happened.
If you don't want to become of them, then you need to follow the tips that McAfee provided. These will help you outsmart travel scammers:
- Before booking, always check the name of the property owner. Avoid paying for rentals via prepaid cards, gift cards, and wire transfers.
- When you are already on vacation, avoid using public WiFi as much as possible. Also, try using a secured VPN to protect your personal data.
- Whenever you receive an email message regarding travel deals, don't click the attachments. There's a chance they contain malware.
These are just some of the tips provided by McAfee. To see more, just click here.
Aside from travel scams, other malicious campaigns also become rampant recently.
These include crypto ATM scams, which the FBI previously warned about. Scam bank investment texts were also identified by the Bank of America.
For more news updates about scams and other cybersecurity threats, always keep your tabs open here at TechTimes.
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