Those who want to travel this summer have to dig deeper into their pockets than in previous years. Rental cars, hotels, flights and even the shuttle bus are more expensive than ever. In some cases, the price increase is a good 70 percent compared to the pre-corona year 2019.
Fraudsters are shamelessly exploiting this tense situation, using a proven trick that has already been used to cheat people looking for rented accommodation.
This is a classic prepayment fraud. Scammers advertise a special offer, make it palatable to the prospect, and then try to force an upfront payment.
Once the money is transferred, the profile will be deleted. Because several victims can be cheated with a supposed offer at the same time, criminals make a decent deal with it.
How does the brazen eBay classifieds trick with the “cheap holiday” work?
In the current case, criminals unlock offers for holiday homes or hotel rooms in Germany. The prices are particularly low, the conditions fantastic and the photos authentic. In truth, the advertised offers do not exist.
Anyone who takes the bite because of the low price will be informed that the offer is only available to a limited extent and is particularly popular. In order to secure the hotel room or holiday apartment, interested parties should make an advance payment. The full amount is often required in advance.
The criminals want their victims to transfer the money through PayPal and specifically through the Friends and Family feature. Allegedly to save higher fees.
But this function is only intended to help those affected who really know themselves. You should not transfer money to companies or strangers via this selection. In extreme cases, the money is gone and buyer protection does not apply.
What do I have to look out for when it comes to online travel offers?
Reputable providers have no reason to put unnecessary pressure on you. Never transfer money without first seeing an invoice or a valid contract. Ignore offers that require prepayment through Friends and Family, bitcoins, or Paysafe cards. You can be sure that such claims are a scam.
You should also generally avoid paying in cash. It is better to go the classic way of buying on account, via a bank transfer to a German account number or via payment providers such as PayPal or Klarna. However, here only with activated buyer protection.
The original of this post “Ebay scammers use a new scam to lure Germans into the holiday trap – How to protect yourself” comes from chip.de.
