How Congress aims to help travelers avoid throwing away money at scams

Bailey Schulz, USA TODAY
·2 min read

Fraudulent airline websites and other online travel scams have taken more than $74.2 million from Americans since the start of 2020, according to fraud reports collected by the Federal Trade Commission.

As travel begins to rebound, two senators are introducing legislation that would deter online travel booking scams.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Steven Daines, R-Mont., announced the Protecting Consumers from Travel Fraud Act on Thursday.

The legislation aims to protect travelers by requiring the FTC to update its website with information on how to identify and avoid travel scams, and offer policy recommendations for preventing online travel booking scams. The FTC would also need to report scams targeting travelers during the pandemic to Congress.

"As the pandemic comes to an end and people make plans to travel safely once again, we need to ensure consumers are protected from unfair and deceptive practices designed to target travelers," Klobuchar said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY. "This bipartisan legislation will help protect consumers from travel scams and prevent fraudulent behavior in the travel and tourism industry moving forward."

Some internet providers don't clearly disclose rate increases at the end of a promotional cycle.
Some internet providers don't clearly disclose rate increases at the end of a promotional cycle.

Tips from Rick Steves: Defend yourself against 21st-century travel scams

Related: Coronavirus has exposed Ponzi-style schemes to pay bookings

What do travel scams look like?

The legislation is a response to a growing number of scammers posing as travel or booking agents and creating fraudulent airline websites.

Travelers will book what appears to be a great deal with a major airline through these websites or customer support numbers, but never receive a ticket. Scammers have also called travelers shortly after they book their flight, demanding money for a price increase or extra charge, according to the Better Business Bureau's website.

"Unfortunately, we've seen a rise in travel scams over the last year, and it’s crucial we protect consumers from these predatory acts," Daines, said in an emailed statement to USA TODAY. "I'm glad to work on a bipartisan bill that will help protect consumers and boost our travel economy."

There have been nearly 40,400 vacation and travel fraud reports with the FTC between Jan. 1, 2020, and June 1, for a total of $74.2 million in losses. During that same time frame, online shopping fraud accounted for $39.1 million in losses and business imposters accounted for $19.8 million, according to the FTC.

How to avoid travel scams

According to the Better Business Bureau, travelers can avoid travel scams by:

  • Researching a company before doing business with it.

  • Double checking a website's URL before entering personal or payment information to make sure it's not an imposter website. Secure links will start with "https://" and include a lock icon on the purchase page.

  • Being wary of third-party websites, especially those that have no working customer service number, no physical address, typos and grammatical errors.

  • Making online purchases with a credit card, which are more easily disputed than other payment methods.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travelers lost $74M to scams during pandemic. Legislation aims to help