Recent tricky Travel Scams

Below are the some latest travel scams which are waiting to scam you,

Vacation Clubs 

The consumer advocate Mr. Christopher Elliott told that the first travel scam at the instant is the vacation club scam. Wholesale travel clubs claim that you'll have access to extremely cheap vacations if you join. However, once you pay the joining fees, you find that the deals existing aren't any better than what you can detect for yourself online for free. Elliott advises that anyone considering joining a travel club do research with a very decisive eye beforehand. Just doing an internet search for the name of the travel company plus the word "scam" will usually reveal a host of troubles experienced by other members.

Timeshare Sales

Ed Perkins, a longtime causal editor at Smarter Travel, calls the frank fees for selling your timeshare the biggest scam going today. Scammers assure to get you out from under, saying they have buyers, but all they actually do is take a fee, upward of $400, and do nothing," says Perkins. Never pay up front to have someone help you sell your timeshare and if you want out, go to a licensed company and check them out with the Better Business Bureau (BBB) before listing with them. If you're having trouble getting free of your timeshare, work with a rental company and rent it out to recoup some of the cash until you can sell.

Vacation Certificates

Ed Perkins also warns against prepaid vacation certificates. Scammers assure actually big prices but deliver nothing. The idea here is to get the up-front money, then keep stalling—'Sorry, these dates are sold out; try again soon.' They delay until people just quit trying." Or, the company charges huge extra fees to buy back the certificates, and the trip is significantly less luxurious than promised. Before prepaying for a holiday package, be sure to research fees and blackout dates, as well as the company's standing.

Car-Rental Collision Damage Waivers

Rick Steves calls the car-rental collision damage waivers (CDW) a "collision damage waiver racket." When you rent a car, the company frequently pressures you to buy a CDW supplement, which will stop you from having to pay a high cover deductible if the car is damaged. (The deductible can be thousands of dollars before insurance kicks in.) But most major credit cards already contain deductible collision coverage for free, so check your credit-card terms and pay for the hire car with your credit card. Then you'll be covered without having to case out extra cash for fake insurance.

You Won a Free Trip!

If you've ever dropped your company card in a "win a free trip" drawing at a restaurant or signed up to win at a fair, you may have gotten a call, letter, or email claiming you've won a free vacation. Be cautious many of these "prizes" are actually booby traps in which you'll have to pay bulky fees to claim the vacation or give your credit-card number to "verify your eligibility," resulting in identity theft. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is cracking down on these scams and follow its guide on what to do to avoid being scammed: Get the names of resorts and airlines included in the prize and call them separately to verify the trip. Never give credit-card data to someone calls you, and be sure to get details of the prize in writing before allowing.

Fake International Driving Permits

The FTC also warns against fake International Driving Permits (IDPs) and some countries need tourists to have an IDP in addition to a U.S. driver's license. However, there are only two American associations that are legally authorized to issue IDPs the American Automobile Association (AAA) and the American Automobile Touring Alliance (AATA). Fake companies sell counterfeit IDPs over the Internet, but you'll pay hundreds of dollars for a sanction only to face legal problems for using the fraud IDs in another country.