We have headed into the summer season now, whichimplies traveling to seaside destinations and other scenic spots. However, youplan to travel, through flights or get your vehicles fuelled up for a roadtrip. Whatever plan goes ahead this summer for your vacation, what to eat?Where to live? What to explore? Keeping all these things under attention FBI,the Federal Bureau of Investigation has issued an urgent warning to all thepeople of America at the height of the summer season.
Take a careful look at why the agency expects youto ‘exercise caution over the next coming months, and what will take you toprotect yourself.
As soon as the school announces the break in summerand the warmer temperature hits, most of us get eager to take a break. But,this summer the case has been different, travellers have faced differentobstacles that might be associated with flights cancellation or lack of roomsin hotels. Earlier this month, CNN advised people to reschedule their travelplans in the backdrop of rising prices that will cost you multiple folds thanin previous years.
Many people were compelled to cancel theirvacations due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but with easing restrictions, Americansare again scheduling their trips and the case of travel resources has increaseddramatically. Airlines are facing a shortage of staff and the air-ticket pricesare higher than ever.
When these many people are traveling altogetherthere is a huge shortage of hotel rooms as well and in that case, if you decideto book your accommodations elsewhere you need to be very cautious. The FBI issuesseveral precautions that you need to pay attention to.
Zero-Hour booking, don’t fall for a scam:
The Boston Division of the FBI issued a pressrelease on July 12th owing to the spike in the number of scamsrising with regards to rental and real estate scams. As per, the announcements,people are at high risk of falling prey to somehow or another form of a rentalscam. When you are out to book your, real estate, rentals, or accommodationsonline you will have to be very much cautious in that regard. “We haveseen a significant increase in the amount of money being lost by people who aredesperate to book a good deal”, said Joseph R. Bonavolonta, Special Agent inCharge of the FBI Boston Division in a press release issued July 12th.“Scammers are cashing in on the renters who need to act quickly for fear ofmissing out, and it is costing consumers thousands of dollars, and in somecases, leaving them stranded,”
The advertisements for Real estate online are notalways legitimate. In many such cases, the scammer duplicates and hinders areal ad from a real estate website, and then reposts it on a classifiedadvertisement website. The fraudsters make use of the real broker’s name tocreate a fake email address, and when people reach the site, they are directedthat they can’t see the property unless they make a payment, as they are out oftown. Once the payment is done by the victim, the listing is then no longeravailable. Banks don’t place holds on the funds, and the victim will getassured that the check has cleared. It is not until later they realize it was acounterfeit check and they are solely responsible for the loss.
Be alarmed and keep an eye out for scam warningsigns:
In the year 2021, these scams altogether amountedto a total loss of $350,328,166, which is 64% higher than in 2020. In recentcases in New England, victims have shown up to the rentals only to find outthat the listing was fraudulent, being locked out and stranded. If you findthat you are falling prey to any of these scams, the FBI instructs you to stopall the contacts and report any funds that you may have transferredelsewhere.
FBI also suggests filing a complaint with the FBI’sInternet Crime Complaint Centre. Beforesending any money it is hereby advised to see the home or apartments you arebooking, don’t fill out applications online until you have met the broker orwhosoever is managing the property. Be very smart to not transfer funds tothose you don’t know and try to check the identity of the person through publicrecords.
Bonavolonta further added, “We are asking everyoneto exercise safety, especially over the next few months, as folks look to booklast-minute summer gateways.”