Cybercriminals are targeting consumers every day, attempting to gain access to personal or financial information through a variety of (seemingly) trustworthy and sophisticated methods. This means that vigilance is more important than ever to avoid falling victim to a scam. Thankfully, with a little knowledge on what to look out for, travelers can protect themselves against common tactics.
Your data is sensitive. Treat it that way.
When sharing personal data and/or financial information, ensure it’s on a reputable site that is trusted by consumers. Look for trustworthy indicators like a padlock symbol in the browser's address bar (indicating the site has an SSL [Secure Sockets Layer] certificate, search the site on Google for reviews or red flags, and of course, heed any browser warnings that a site is potentially harmful.
Keep a skeptical mindset.
Cybercriminals exploit their victim’s trust, so proceeding with caution when asked for personal data can help thwart potential scams. Techniques like social engineering and phishing see fraudsters attempt to gain personal data by pretending to be from a trusted organization or individual. In these cases, do not share any information and instead contact the organization or individual through official channels to be safe. Additionally, consumers should be skeptical of any suspicious emails with links and/or attachments that request the recipient to log in or provide sensitive data.
Know the red flags.
Travelers should familiarize themselves with some of the common tactics used by cybercriminals which are relatively easy to spot. These can include: emails, texts or phone calls with urgent language/payment requests, with threats of financial consequences or trip cancellation should the recipient not reply; spelling/grammatical mistakes or a mix of different languages in the same email; a suspicious sender email address – just to name a few.
Keep your money safe.
Travelers should check policy details of the property carefully before booking, including the payment and damage deposit policies and additional fees section. If travelers receive urgent payment requests (e.g. money that needs to be transferred to a bank account within 24 hours to prevent the booking from being canceled), or if the property insists on communicating/sending payment on a 3rd party platform, the advice is not to make payment and contact the relevant customer service department for advice. No legitimate transaction (eg. payments and/or reservation changes) will ever require payment with gift cards or credit card details via phone, text message or email.