Travelers often fall for professionally fake holiday home ads. Cheap prices, breathtaking pictures and a nice contact person are among the stitches of the fraudsters.
A good offer that is deceptive
It often starts with an apparent find of happiness. Modern accommodation in Italy, Croatia or on a popular island, equipped with all the comfort and a surprisingly low price. Such offers seem particularly attractive, especially in the high season, when real accommodations are scarce. In many cases, pictures and texts come from reputable sources, as the German press agency reports. Copy fraudsters from real portals and create deceptively real offers. At first glance, it can hardly be seen whether it is a legitimate or fake advertisement. Addresses and location descriptions also often match real objects.
The way into the trap
If someone is interested, the further communication usually runs away from known booking platforms, according to the Lower Saxony Consumer Center. As with most online fraud stitches, many perpetrators target time pressure to avoid critical thinking. The payment request will follow soon. Usually the sum should be transferred in advance, often to a foreign account or through services such as Western Union. As soon as the money has arrived, the contact breaks off. The supposed holiday home does not exist and the holiday plans dissolve in air.
Recognize warning signals
A significantly too low price is the first warning signal. According to the Rhineland-Palatinate consumer center, a lack of provider identification or an incomplete imprint are indications of dubious pages. Google image search is a useful tool. If an identical photo is found several times, for example with different locations, an attempt to fraud is obvious. The platform antenne.de also recommends that you only choose payment methods that enable the feedback. Customer reviews also often provide information. According to FR.DE, lack of experience reports are to be taken seriously to take a noticeably number of five-star reviews without content or strangely formulated comments.
What to do in an emergency
Anyone who has become the victim of such a fraud should act immediately. The police – also accessible via online guards – accept such cases. It is important to secure receipts such as emails, screenshots and transfer evidence. The German Press Agency points out that these documents can be decisive for an advertisement. Your own bank or the payment service provider should also be contacted. With payments with a credit card, a return booking is possible under certain conditions.
Editor finance.net