Kristin Lessard & Steve Kelly

Kristin Lessard & Steve Kelly

Kristin & Steve, weekday mornings from 5-10!Full Bio

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Warnings To Help You Spot Vacation Rental Scams

Finding a good vacation rental online can make you feel like you won the lottery, right up until you get there and realize the place isn't close to was advertised. The vacation rental business is booming, thanks to sites like Airbnb, Vrbo and others, but thereโ€™s no shortage of fraudsters using fake listings to scam people out of their money.

โ€œVacation rental scams can happen on any online platform,โ€ travel bloggerย Rocky Trifariย explains. โ€œScammers are constantly testing new methods of deception with hopes of luring in unsuspecting victims.โ€

To help make sure you donโ€™t get conned, travel experts share signs of a fraudulent listing and how to avoid falling for a scam.

  • The listing seems too good to be trueย - โ€œFirst and foremost, if a listing seems too good to be true, then it most probably is,โ€ saysย Aiden Joseph, senior editor at The Broke Backpacker. While youโ€™re searching, you get a feel for the pricing in different areas, if you see something thatโ€™s an impossibly good value or that offers luxury features that donโ€™t match the cost, travel expertย Blake Walshย advises checking the reviews and host to see if itโ€™s real.
  • The host pushes for external communicationย - Walsh says this is a big red flag, as itโ€™s important to keep all communication on the booking site โ€œto ensure the best security and safety for your details and information.โ€
  • They ask for direct paymentย - Scammers will often ask you to pay directly via Venmo, PayPal, Zelle or a bank transfer or wire, butย Mike Keenan, general counsel at the vacation rental company Evolve, recommends travelers only book and pay through the booking platforms.
  • The reviews are questionable -ย Look for properties with a lot of reviews and actually read them so you know if they feel legit. Joseph says if a lot of reviews were written in short succession, or they use a lot of the same language, thatโ€™s another warning sign.
  • Thereโ€™s pressure to book -ย If a host pushes you to book quickly, it could be a scam. Trifari notes, โ€œHigh pressure sales tactics should always be your number one red flag.โ€
  • A Google search shows discrepancies -ย Vacation rental owners often list on multiple platforms, so Keenan advises searching for a listing on multiple sites to make sure theyโ€™re consistent. Make sure details like location and amenities are the same on all listings and even do a reverse image search for the photos in the listing to make sure theyโ€™re not just stock images or donโ€™t go with the property.

Source-Huffington Post

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Photo: Getty Images


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