After two and a half years of the Corona pandemic, the desire to travel is increasing significantly again. Holiday apartments and holiday homes are still very popular. However, caution is advised when booking travel services individually. Because even the best holiday dream can turn into a nightmare. This happens when fraudsters entice people with false or non-existent holiday homes and apartments on the Internet. You've finally found your dream destination, booked your desired period, paid the money - only to find out: the apartment doesn't even exist or the alleged landlord is actually a fraud.
The consumer advice center and the Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office are therefore giving tips before the upcoming holiday season on how to protect yourself from fraud when booking a holiday home.
Pay attention to the price! Extremely cheap offers are typical of fake offers:
You should be suspicious if rental prices are too low and if the address of the rental property is not mentioned. A comparison with other offers in the area will show whether the price can be realistic. If images are available, it is also worth searching for images on the Internet. In this way, images that can be used by the general public can be quickly identified and the fake is exposed.
No payment in advance. All rip-off scams usually have one thing in common:
The scammers demand the entire price upfront. It is usually not possible to tell at first glance whether the ad for a holiday apartment is dubious or fraudulent. An indication of attempted fraud is the request to transfer the total price of the rental immediately in advance. If the amount is then paid to the alleged landlord, this money is irretrievably lost. “It is better to pay by direct debit or credit card,” says Jennifer Kaiser, legal expert at the Rhineland-Palatinate Consumer Center. In the event of fraud, the money can usually be returned by the bank. Scammers like to request payment using cash transfer services such as Western Union or Money Gram. These enable payment recipients to remain unrecognized. Great caution should therefore be exercised when using this payment method.
If personal communication with the landlord is not possible, it is better to stay away from the offer.
A good way to protect yourself from fraud is to call the landlord or the agency: Fraudsters avoid phone calls because they can quickly be exposed there. So if you only ever get an answering machine or only hear a busy signal, you should stay away from this offer. Further indications of fraud are: Communication only takes place via a messenger service or only an email address is provided and the landlord's name, address and telephone number are missing.
Be careful with dubious online portals without or with fake imprints
When booking via online portals, you should check whether a specific company headquarters and tax number are stated in the legal notice or under the “Contact” link. The information should be checked because fraudsters are increasingly copying contact addresses from reputable imprints. If you are not sure, placement agencies and holiday home associations or a local tourism organization can help. The booking should then definitely be made via an encrypted connection (https).
Recommendation for action if fraud is suspected
People who fear suspected fraud or have become victims of fraud on an advertising portal should inform the portal operators immediately and report it to the local police.
Further thematic information and police contacts can be found at: https://www.polizei-beratung.de/medienangebot/thema/betrug/
Anyone planning a vacation should find out in advance about the current rules in connection with the corona virus. The consumer advice center offers an overview of which rules currently apply to holidaymakers: https://www.verbraucherzentrale-rlp.de/reisen-in-coronazeiten
Source: Rhineland-Palatinate State Criminal Police Office
Also read: “Hello, this is my new number”: The WhatsApp scam
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