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Three things to look for to avoid a travel scam

June 6, 2024 – Published on WFMY News Greensboro, NC

A cruise, a bucket list getaway,  a trip to the outer banks. Whatever kind of travel gets your attention, a scammer is ready to reel you in. 

“Whenever you google and you see a sponsored link…people are paying to have that site boosted up there, so thread actors will pay for bad website advertising,” said Trace Hollifield with GuidePoint Security. 

Hollifield says scammers use a tactic that confuses people about what site they are on. Instead of the www to start the web address,  scammers will put two v’s together and then two w’s to make it look like it’s the address of the website you’re looking for. The imposter website will look nearly identical to the real site you’re looking for. 

Checking online reviews is also paramount. It’s something we do for everything from restaurants to Amazon products, so yes, you should look for them with travel deals and destinations too. But, you need to look for the fakes. 

“If you start looking at them, make sure you’re getting more than one-word reviews for example, ‘Great Spot’ or ‘Best time ever’, you need to avoid that. Look for legitimate feedback from a human,” said Hollifield. 

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