Top tips to avoid being scammed when you are on holiday

As the summer holidays approach, we are all looking forward to a bit of time off to relax.

But holidays can also make us vulnerable to scams. Who hasn’t been tempted by a cut-price deal or two online? Or found themselves handing over their card to pay for something on holiday without thinking twice about who would have their card details?

Scams are big money. According to industry initiative FraudSmart, more than €100 million was swiped from consumers in various frauds and scams last year. That was an annual increase of 16 per cent.

The Banking and Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI), has been warning people to be on their guard this summer when booking trips and paying for other holiday expenses – travel, booking accommodation and eating out, for example.

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Out of the €98.6 million that Irish people lost to fraudsters last year, card fraud accounted for €35.2 million, or 36 per cent of the losses. So there are plenty of reasons to be on your guard this summer.

Before you go

When making travel plans, always stick to websites that you trust. One of the tactics employed by scammers is to target potential holidaymakers on the lookout for a bargain.

Ghost brokers

This scam sees criminals target people searching for online holiday or flight deals through seemingly legitimate ads. The ads, which are often tagged as “sponsored”, push customers to fake sites that are convincing enough to fool them into passing on personal details. In many cases, that means handing over phone numbers and email addresses before you can search the listings to find a holiday. That then starts with messages about cheap flights and cut-price deals, and when the target bites, their card details can be used to make other genuine bookings to sell on at a later stage.

AIB warned late last year that this type of fraud was on the rise. “These scams are often sophisticated and even use sponsored ads to target people who may assume that the travel company is genuine,” said AIB’s head of financial crime, Carol Lawton. “Not only does the person lose out on the supposed holiday they booked, they are often further defrauded when the criminals use their stolen card and security details to buy genuine holidays to sell on at a later stage.”

To avoid falling prey to the scams, research your potential holiday carefully. Check sites such as TripAdvisor and TrustPilot for feedback on the company, and see if you can find your holiday property on other websites.

Don’t follow links sent via email; instead, look up the holiday company’s website yourself to make sure it is a genuine company. Think twice before you click.

Book using a card rather than a bank transfer, to give you some added protection. In cases of fraud it may be easier for the credit card company to do a chargeback rather than trying to recover the money through the banks.

You can also check up on the travel agent. Businesses licensed in Ireland are covered by the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) and will usually have a licence number on their website. That means you are covered if the company goes out of business before your holiday, but it also gives you another indicator that it is a genuine business. You can check if it is a legitimate licence by searching the IAA database here to see if the details match.

If a deal seems too good to be true, it probably is.

Visa scams

Travelling somewhere that requires a visa? Make sure you are going through a legitimate website to fill out your visa application. There are plenty of websites springing up, offering to guide you through the visa process – for a fee. Cut out the middleman, go directly to the embassy website of the country you are visiting, and follow their process. Not only will it save you some cash, it will keep your data only to those who really need it.

Phishing

Scammers may try to get your personal details by sending you phishing emails – messages that appear to come from a genuine source, but are just gathering confidential data.

Check the email address on the message to make sure it is coming from the correct source, and look for other hints that it is not a genuine message – spelling mistakes, graphics out of line and so on. Also, do not click links contained in the emails. Go to the website independently and check your booking there.

While you are there

Remember traveller’s cheques? For those too young to remember, it was before cards were as widely available and accepted as they currently are, and when European travel meant multiple currencies. To avoid travelling with large sums of cash on you, you bought traveller’s cheques, and either used them to pay for goods and services, or cashed them as you needed them.

They still exist, but people rarely use them these days, Instead, it is more common to use tour cards abroad, However, that can also carry a degree of risk, especially if it is your primary bank account. You don’t want to hand over your card to just anyone.

Instead, consider using a prepaid debit card as you would online.

There are some advantages to this. It helps you stick to a budget for your holiday for a start. And it is safer than carrying cash around with you. If your card is lost, you can usually freeze the card through the accompanying app to stop any unauthorised spending. If the worst happens and your card is stolen, you can simply cancel it in the app and generate a new virtual one, making it more difficult for anyone with the card number to make some additional charges that you haven’t authorised.

Some options out there include the An Post Currency Card, Revolut, N26 and Bunq. Before you go choose though, there are some things to keep in mind.

Make sure it is widely accepted

Visa and Mastercard are the most commonly accepted cards, so you shouldn’t have any trouble with them while travelling. However, if you are relying on a virtual card on your smartphone or watch, be aware that not everywhere will accept contactless payments, so it helps to have a backup physical card in case of emergencies.

This will also cover you if something happens to your phone – damaged, lost, stolen or simply out of battery – and will allow you to withdraw cash if needed.

Check the fees

One of the advantages of using cards these days is that you can often hold accounts in multiple currencies. That allows you to exchange your money ahead of time at a set rate, rather than being at the whim of your bank on any given day.

It also means you can avoid a fee that your bank applies for each transaction carried out in a foreign currency. They can really add up.

However, each card will have its own fees and charges attached, either monthly fees for the account, to withdraw money from an ATM or to top up.

Watch out for limits

Your chosen card may have a limit on the number of ATM withdrawals, the amount you can take out in a day, or a maximum balance imposed on the card. Make sure you know in advance to avoid a shock while abroad.

Topping up

How easy is it to add money to your account? If you want to keep a smaller balance on the card, make sure you can easily transfer more money if needed. Also, watch out for hidden fees depending on the method used to add money. Some methods of loading the card with cash could throw up nasty surprises.

Watch out for wifi

Free wifi is great, but it can be a security nightmare, especially if it is an open network. Try to avoid carrying out any sensitive financial transactions when on unsecured wifi, and stick to password-protected networks where possible.

When you return

Keep an eye on your accounts for any suspicious transactions. Some may take a couple of days to hit your accounts but any deposits you paid should be refunded within a reasonable time frame, and any surprise extras can be queried quickly.

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