A woman is suing Unifi Aviation after she reportedly witnessed one of the company's employees fatally "ingested" into a Delta airplane's engine, according to documents viewed by Insider.
27.07.2023 - 17:58 / smartertravel.com
As travel resumes, so have travel scams. Scammers are getting more sophisticated, and can easily trick travelers out of their hard-earned vacation money. We’ve uncovered five of the most common travel scams for 2021, so you can outsmart the scammers.
Fake Car Rental ScamsWith rental cars in short supply for 2021, desperate travelers looking for any vehicle to rent are particularly vulnerable to scammers. Amy Nofziger, Director of Victim Support for the AARP Fraud Watch Network tells us one common scam for 2021 involves criminals creating fake car rental company websites, and then buying ads for their fake pages to show up for search terms such as “cheap car rentals”. The unsuspecting browser would then call the fake customer service number on the page (which appeared to be for a legitimate car rental company) and be told that the cheap rate was only valid if they pre-paid with a store-bought gift card (like an American Express gift card). The victim would buy a gift card and use it to secure their reservation, only to find out upon arrival at the real rental car counter that they were scammed and no car was available.
Related:5 Ways to Book a Car During the Car Rental Shortage
“Free” Vacation ScamsIf you get a phone call, email, or postcard telling you that you’ve won a free vacation (and just need to pay taxes and fees) or offering you a deal that sounds way too good to be true, walk away, says Nofziger.
If the deal is coming from a legitimate travel company, look up the information for that company separately (don’t use the contact information that was sent to you, which could be redirected to a scammer) to verify separately.
One other red flag to watch for—if the company is asking you to pay with a prepaid gift card or debit card, it’s likely to be a scam, because it’s significantly harder to get back stolen funds on those types of cards rather than a credit card.
Vacation Rental ScamsFound a picture-perfect vacation rental online? Make sure to check the vacation rental site’s fraud policies to make sure you’ll be protected in case your booking turns out to be a scam. Nofziger recommends carefully following the booking platform’s guideline’s on accepted payments to best protect yourself and to always pay with a credit card for extra protection.
Common vacation rental scams involve fake listings, inaccurate listings, or renters sending you a fake cashier’s check or money order for more money than they owe you (and asking you to send them the excess amount before you realize the check is fake).
Unsure about the vacation rental company you’re thinking of booking with? Check the Better Business Bureau (BBB) website for complaints, says Nofziger. You can also search the company name plus the
A woman is suing Unifi Aviation after she reportedly witnessed one of the company's employees fatally "ingested" into a Delta airplane's engine, according to documents viewed by Insider.
In the heart of the enchanting Chianti wine region in Tuscany, Italy, stands an exquisite 16th-century stone farmhouse called "Villa Ardore." Transformed into a luxurious sanctuary for love and acceptance, this remarkable venue is a testament to the enduring power of passion and the triumph of progress over adversity.
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Enter the Pernod Ricard “St. Patrick’s Day” sweepstakes by April 30, 2016, for a chance to win one of six grand prizes: each a trip for two to Ireland, including air, three nights’ hotel, and a tour of the Jameson distillery in Dublin.
Shorter days, cooler weather, and back-to-school sales are right around the corner—but don’t let summer come to an end without enjoying one last vacation. Book one of these cheap Labor Day weekend getaways to take advantage of low airfares, affordable hotel rates, and special events in a variety of U.S. and international locations.
Well, these are some expensive pretzels.
We all know that air travel isn’t great for the environment, but a new study has found that tourism is four times worse for the environment than previously thought. The alarming research conducted by University of Sydney researchers and published in the journal Nature Climate Change found that the tourism industry (including direct sources like flights and indirect sources such as souvenir manufacturing) is responsible for eight percent of global greenhouse emissions, which is four times higher than scientists had previously estimated.
Don’t have anyone to travel with, but not really up for wandering the world alone? You’ve now got a few new options.
“Best airport” rankings aren’t typically the most helpful in terms of travel planning: If I want to go to Boston, I’m not going to head for Las Vegas instead because its airport is better. But those best airport lists do come in handy in two cases—when you have a choice of airport for your connecting flight, and when you can choose between multiple airports within a single metro area.