Ten ways to avoid scams when booking travel

4. When in doubt, contact the business or third-party platform directly (but don’t use the contact details you find in the message)

If you think there is a real reason you may need to pay for a hotel or service you booked, call them directly – but use a telephone number from the company’s website online, not from an email. If the message came via a third-party booking service like in the Booking.com scam, you should go to that booking service and contact their customer service directly to find out if it’s legitimate.

“The Booking.com scam is pretty sophisticated, because the message that the victims receive comes from Booking.com. And they would probably think, ‘Well, if it’s coming from them, it is going to be legitimate’,” said Devane. “But the big red flag is them trying to get you to go off of the platform.”

5. Beware of clicking online ads

Thanks to the speed and granularity of online data harvesting, as soon as you start researching an upcoming holiday, you’re likely to see related online advertisements pop up. But some may be fraudulent. The most convincing ones may even send you to a site that looks like a third-party booking engine you’ve heard of before, but is, in fact, fake.

Always double-check the legitimacy of any company that’s being advertised and, when you do your online research, consider using a virtual private network (VPN), which encrypts data sent between your device and the router, and a browser that blocks ad tracking, like DuckDuckGo. If you’re using security software, make sure you’re using a browser that that software supports, added Devane.

6. Only use reputable third-party booking sites

It might seem counterintuitive, given that scammers have targeted a reputable, third-party booking site like Booking.com. But a number of other scams have involved third-party sites that promise to book, say, airfare, take your money… and never buy (or provide) the ticket.

So if you are going to use an aggregator or third-party booking site (rather than booking direct with a hotel or airline), experts say it’s safer to use large, brand-name companies you may have heard of – while still following all the other safety tips outlined here.

And if you can’t remember the exact web address of the third-party booking site and have to put it into a search engine, make sure you don’t then click on the ads that come up from the search; instead, click on the organic search result itself.

7. Look for reviews

Numerous travellers have been taken in with fake apartment rental listings. And even when not using a third-party booking site, it’s possible to get conned – scammers can target you with fake ads for a hotel that doesn’t exist, for example. One aspect to look for is whether the property has reviews, and again, if you’re targeted with an ad for a business, to make sure it actually exists on third-party review sites like TripAdvisor and Booking.com.

8. Never pay with a wire transfer

Consumer protection regulations generally mean that, if you use a credit card or a debit card, you’re protected from fraudulent transactions – in other words, you usually should be able to get your money back (although at a cost of time and hassle). But that often doesn’t extend to wire transfers, or to payments with other methods, like cryptocurrency or gift cards. (Even if you’ve lost money by paying with something like a wire transfer or gift card, the FTC still suggests you try to get the money back; here’s what they suggest. Citizen’s Advice has UK-specific recommendations).