Scammers continue to prey on travelers with various schemes. It’s critical to be fully aware of them, recognize the scams, and act to prevent yourself from becoming a victim.
I regularly get emails from readers letting me know what travel scams they’ve run into. They ask me to report on them to help others avoid the scams. During 2025, the scams described below are the ones most often cited. We all need to be aware of them, so we can avoid falling prey to them ourselves.
Numerous scams like the skimming and credit card verification scams are trying to steal your credit card and bank account information.
The ATM and fuel pump skimming scam:
Skimming occurs when electronic devices are illegally installed on ATMs anywhere, or on fuel pumps at stores and service stations. They read the identification data from ATMs, debit and credit cards inserted into ATMs and other card readers. I recommend only using ATMs in banks, not elsewhere where they are more vulnerable. Use fuel pumps at stores and gas stations that are nearest to where attendants have an easy view of them. Better yet at fuel pumps, use your smartphone wallet to pay for fuel and other items so that your credit/debit card information isn’t skimmed.
The credit card verification call scam:
This one was tried on me a few years ago. The first night of my stay I got a call about 11 p.m. from a person purportedly at the front desk. He wanted to verify my credit card details. Of course, it was a scammer trying to get my credit card information. I knew it at once and told him that I’ll come right down to the front desk. He hung up before I could. Never give credit/debit card information to anyone who calls you, even if the Caller ID makes sense. Caller IDs are easily spoofed.
The AI rental car body scan scam:
If you’re not yet aware of it, Hertz is using Artificial Intelligence (AI)-based scans of their rental cars to determine if they’ve been damaged while their customers use them. I’ve heard from readers who have been caught by the scans for tiny scratches that to most people would be considered normal wear and tear. It’s more important than ever to document the condition of your rental car for proof of its condition before you leave with it. I photograph every scratch and dent, no matter how tiny, then make a complete video of the car. Don’t forget the roof and the car’s interior. While it’s Hertz today, this will be coming to the whole industry.
If the discount for renting a vacation property off the Airbnb and Vrbo platforms is too good to be true, it’s probably a scam. Don’t fall for it.
The fake rental property scam:
Be vigilant if an Airbnb or Vrbo rental property owner offers you a discount for booking their unit directly, not on the Airbnb or Vrbo platforms. You’re likely looking at a fake rental property listing. The scammers, who almost always aren’t the owners of the properties, work to convince you to send them cash for a big discount on the rental, then disappear. Don’t forget that even if the listing is legitimate, when you book outside the platforms you lose all their protections and guarantees provided to renters. I strongly recommend never renting these properties outside of their platform listings. Another way to be safe when renting a vacation property is to do it directly through a legitimate real estate agency, which is my preferred method.
The ersatz cop scam:
While walking, a “police officer” comes over asking to look through your wallet for counterfeit bills and verify your identification. Too often tourists hand over their wallets and lose their cash and a credit card this way. In the U.S. and most of Europe, people are protected from this kind of warrantless search. Insist the “police” handle the search at the local station. A fake cop will quickly depart.
The cabbie filcher scam:
You get in a taxi and the driver claims the meter’s broken, but quotes a good fare. When you arrive at your destination the cabbie demands more cash and threatens to call the police if you don’t pay instantly. Sometimes the driver leaves the moment you’re in the taxi and state your destination. Later, the cabbie says the meter is broken, demands an outrageous fare and says they’ll take you to the police if you don’t pay.
Only use licensed taxis or use a ride sharing service with preset fares. Know the basic fare in advance. Don’t go in taxis without a working meter.
The grandparent scam and the group photo scam catch many unsuspecting people because it’s hard to believe anyone would go that low. Unfortunately, they do.
The grandparent scam:
You receive a message from someone online who says that they’re your grandchild or another family member or a government official contacting you for them. They claim to need money right away and typically ask you to keep it a secret. If this happens to you, try to contact the family member directly to confirm the information is accurate. It rarely is.
The group photo scam:
Someone walks up to you and in a friendly way offers to take your picture with your camera or cellphone. You hand it to them and they run off with it. Never hand over your camera or cellphone to a stranger.
The pizza purloiner and WiFi scams are all too real. Don’t fall for them.
The pizza purloiner scam:
A neighbor of mine fell prey to this scam. His family returned to their hotel exhausted from a long dy of touring. When they saw the pizza parlor flyer under their door they were delighted. They called in, placed an order and gave them their credit card information. Instead of the pizza, they got a credit card charge for more than $2,500. They contacted their bank, canceled the card and the charge was removed. Never give personal or credit card information over the phone to a stranger or an unknown business.
The fake WiFi scam:
You’re at a great cafe with your laptop or tablet, paying bills by connecting to their WiFi, or at the airport, or even your hotel, transmitting your credit card or bank information. The problem is that you may be connected to a scammer’s WiFi network on which they’re reading everything typed and sucking up your credit card and bank information. At any of these locations, carefully check to verify, to the extent possible, the legitimacy of the WiFi network. Use a VPN service to have end-to-end encryption to protect your data and only connect to websites that use HTTPS (Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure), the secure version of HTTP that encrypts data between your browser and a website.
I recommend not using WiFi in cafes or restaurants. If you need Internet there, connect through your cellular provider. I use WiFi in airline lounges and hotels where I can verify the network, but I try to never pay bills when traveling. If I do, I only pay bills online that have 2–step verification in place. That way, if somehow my credentials are stolen, the verification will stop them from access.
These scams can catch anyone of us unless we’re vigilant. Always be aware of these scam possibilities and others. Have a plan to stay safe. The knowledge of these scams will help, but so will prevention, such as having a VPN service subscription and making sure that you set up 2–step verification on all your online financial accounts.
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After many years working in corporate America as a chemical engineer, executive and eventually CFO of a multinational manufacturer, Ned founded a tech consulting company and later restarted NSL Photography, his photography business. Before entering the corporate world, Ned worked as a Public Health Engineer for the Philadelphia Department of Public Health. As a well known corporate, travel and wildlife photographer, Ned travels the world writing about travel and photography, as well as running photography workshops, seminars and photowalks. Visit Ned’s Photography Blog and Galleries.
