It’s vacation season!

We know a lot of you are looking for fun opportunities for the rest of this month — or you MAY BE considering squeezing in an early-August getaway before the kids go back to school.

Before heading on your dream vacation (or even just that weekend getaway to the beach or mountains), there are a few new scams you’ll want to be on the lookout for!

1. The bogus prize
In this scam, you’ll get a notification that you’re the lucky winner of a free vacation. You’ll start planning your trip, only to find you’re constantly asked to pay various “prize fees,” “taxes” or “deposits” as the departure date approaches. Your “free” vacation isn’t free at all! Or, you may get to your destination only to find out that it’s not all that great. Be really careful when people start using the word "free."

2. The dream-priced rental
You’re searching for that perfect vacation rental on Airbnb and there it is! The rental you’ve been looking for – and at a dream price!

This is where you need to be careful. Services like Airbnb offer protections for renters, including dispute resolution and more. Sometimes, though, a property owner will offer you a discount for paying through a third-party processing site instead of Airbnb. When you do that, you lose all your protections. The property you think you’re booking might not even exist or may not actually be available to rent!

3. Phony “experiences”
Some vacation rental sites also allow you to book “experiences,” or days out on the town. This platform has become a breeding ground for scammers. You might book a tour, pay for it and find out too late that the tour is completely bogus. Make sure you call the tour or event operator (by looking them up online, not just calling the number on the vacation rental site) to verify information before booking.

Scams often have comment elements — or red flags — that you should be on the lookout for! Here are those red flags:

A. Upfront fees. Whether it’s a vacation rental, a tourist experience or a sweepstakes prize, you should not have to pay more than a small deposit before your arrival.

B. Specific payment methods. If you’re asked to pay via wire transfer, you might be looking at a scam.

C. Skimpy details. When booking any vacation, do your research. If your contact refuses to provide anything more than the most basic of details and you can’t find much info online, that might be a warning sign.

D. Extremely low prices. If a vacation rental or package is priced unusually low, you might be dealing with a scammer.

E. Pressure tactics. If you’re urged to sign up for a vacation package quickly or risk losing the deal, opt-out. High-pressure is no fun!

Another way you can protect yourself? Use your CommonWealth One VISA for your vacation! If you have our Signature Rewards Credit Card, your Travel rewards include hotel theft protection, lost luggage reimbursement and more!

We hope you have an amazing trip and we'd love to hear about it when you get back. (When you come into the branch, let's talk about setting up a special savings account so you can start saving up for your next vacation, too!)

Learn More: Recognizing and Avoiding Scams (banzai.org)