AMARILLO, Texas (KVII) — As the travel season heats up, scammers are working overtime to target unsuspecting travelers, warns the Better Business Bureau (BBB) in Amarillo.
Janna Kiehl, President of the Texas Panhandle BBB, emphasized the importance of booking vacations through reputable travel agencies to avoid falling victim to scams.
“It’s really important for people to do that research and not fall for those scams,” Kiehl said. “Just by clicking and believing what they see on the ad, those ads usually are fake. You know if you are seeing something from a reputable hotel or a name that you know, it’s best to go to their website directly and do business there and also check out any offers they may have. Call the reservation number from their website and ask for those offers as well.”
Kiehl advised using a credit card instead of a debit card when booking hotels, flights, and other vacation essentials.
“When people do lose money or personal information such as a credit card number or, you know, their social security number, then it’s harder to get it back and they are just lost,” she said. “They’ve lost the money and not only is that detrimental to them as individuals, but it affects our local economy.”
Sgt. Carla Burr, Public Information Officer with the Amarillo Police Department, stressed the importance of protecting one’s online identity.
“If it sounds too good to be true, it’s too good to be true, it’s a scam,” Burr said. “Number two, if they’re threatening you, if they’re telling you it’s urgent if they’re telling you not to tell anybody, if they’re telling you that if you don’t do something right now, either you’re going to be arrested, somebody’s going to be hurt, something, it’s a scam. Every single time, 100%, I guarantee it.”
Kiehl also advised ignoring unsolicited emails asking for personal information and instead contacting the company directly.
“Anything that’s unsolicited, whether it’s a text message or an email or a phone call, that is a red flag for caution,” she said. “Because if these companies are booked up, it’s a busy time of year. You might ask yourself why would they send out these types of unsolicited messaging to consumers to book those flights or those reservations.”
The BBB and Amarillo Police Department urge anyone aware of scams to report them.
Link to the BBB Tracker here.
