Hardly a day goes by without a report of someone getting scammed out of their money in the news. The odds are that you know at least one person who has had their identity or credit card information stolen. Even when dealing with a legitimate company, nearly everyone has run afoul of the fine print at least once. Travel scams happen far too often and make up a large portion of this ordeal.
A certain amount of skepticism is healthy, too much though and you could miss out on some amazing chances to travel and see the world. It can be hard to tell the difference between a lucky break, and something that really is too good to be true. Luckily, there are a couple of things that can help you tell the difference, and methods you can use to protect yourself.
Spotting the Travel Scams
- An easy way to check is to look into the company doing the offering. A legitimate company will have a website with an address, a phone number, and all the other things that are required to run a legitimate business. A business address that consists of a P.O. Box is a dead giveaway.
- Make sure you check out the reviews listed on their site. Legitimate travel companies will have reviews from third party sites on their websites that link back to the original review. Real reviews usually come from sites such as Yelp!, Facebook, Trip Advisor and Google. If the website reviews don’t link to their source, then they are most likely fake.
- Along the same lines, check out their social profiles. If they don’t have any that should be another giveaway that they are a scam! Their social media profiles should be active with posts from the last few days.
- Beware of any sites that require cash payments! You should zealously defend your credit card information, and do your research before trusting an online seller with it. Once you’ve done your research you should then pay with a credit card. Charges made to a credit card can be disputed which gives you an extra layer of protection if the seller doesn’t deliver on their promises. It is possible to enjoy the same protection from a debit card, but you cannot count on it. While consumer protection laws for credit cards are spelled out in federal law, what determines whether your debit card purchases are protected is your bank. You should never be forced to pay in cash. Insistence on payment in cash or money order is a dead giveaway that it’s a scam. The same laws that protect consumers from credit card fraud also protects legitimate merchants. There is another side to fraud after all, where a merchant did provide the services promised and the customer fraudulently claims that they didn’t. For these reasons, legitimate travel agencies will have everything documented for their own protection, and will be happy to provide you with a copy, and contact numbers so you confirm it on your own.
- Check that the company is bonded and licensed to sell travel. The Florida Department of Agriculture dispenses seller of travel licenses only to legitimate companies and the license has a unique I.D. number. Real companies often display the license on their website with the I.D. number so that customers can verify their business.
The Right Way to Save Money on Travel
It does seem like every article ends with the same basic conclusion. Which is: plan your cruise vacation well in advance in order to save. This is a truism in cruising. Even when you can save by booking at the last minute you need to plan to do so in advance. To save on a cruise at the last minute you have to know when and where the most popular cruises are sailing, know approximately when the last day passengers can cancel and get a refund, and then have an eagle eye for a fire sale. Your best chances for saving not just on your cruise but on every bit of your travel is to shop around, compare prices, and put the pieces together on your own. It takes effort to create your perfect cruise vacation, and just having it handed to you isn’t going to happen. While lucky breaks can and do happen, expecting them instead of being happily surprised by them is a good way to end up as the unluckiest person you know.
When you book a Go Port package you will receive a receipt for your purchases. Before your date of travel, you’ll receive a welcome package that details your transportation and accommodations. We also have staff available to answer your questions from 9 AM to 9 PM all seven days of the week in case you have any questions, or want to make changes to your package. If you’re thinking of booking one of our packages then you should check out our reviews, on Facebook, Yelp!, and Google+. If you’ve already booked-and enjoyed-your Go Port package please leave us a review.
You should expect the same from any seller of travel.
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