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How to Spot a Travel Scam
While Nigeria can be a wonderful place to visit, it unfortunately has its share of travel scams, just like anywhere else in the world. So whether you're booking hotels in Hawaii or coming to Nigeria with an adventure tour, make sure you don' fall victim to a travel scam by using our safety tips to vet each offer as you see it. Here are some common travel scams and tips on avoiding becoming a victim of them.
Discount Vacations
Some websites will offer you access to discounted vacations for the price of membership in their travel club. Disney Vacation Club is one for example. Often these travel clubs will earn you nothing but a cheap trinket and a newsletter filled with travel articles lifted from the internet. Make sure you know how much the luxury cottage rentals usually cost so you can tell whether a discount is really a discount. Don't fall for pretend discounts that simply hide the rest of the cost behind "fuel taxes" and the like by getting a breakdown of the full cost before you order.
Out of Business
There's nothing worse than pre-booking a nice oceanfront resort and paying the fees in advance via credit card like they ask - only to find out on arrival or just before you're due to leave that the company has done out of business and your deposit is gone forever. Vet any airline, travel agency, and hotel you're considering booking with through the Better Business Bureau and Trip Advisor to find out if they're on the up and up and have been around a while before you buy or fly. The staff at TPI Lawyers for instance, tell us that they wisely call any resort before making a booking to speak with staff and confirm trip details, especially when traveling outside of their local area.
Credit Card Mix-up
The number one rule of credit cards is never give your number over the phone, so if someone calls your hotel room at the resort and asks you to confirm your credit card number, go down to the desk and speak with an employee or you could be giving your credit card information to a scammer. The same goes for any business, whether it be a jet ski rental company or an airline.
Hotel and Taxi Honey Trap
Nobody wants to wait around in a long line for a taxi or spend hours wandering the city looking for a good hotel near a conference, but if anyone approaches you at the airport, bus terminal, or train station offering themselves as a taxi or hotel representative, refuse. They're likely out to scam you by charging you a heightened rate or even rob you and leave you in the middle of nowhere.
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