How not to fall into the trap of scammers?
Very often when buying goods on the Internet users of the network come across the tricks of scammers, and the online booking of hotels is not an exception. The most common type of fraud in the network is the creation of clone sites of existing hotels. In order not to take the bait of swindlers, it is enough to know a few indisputable rules which we have described below:
Choose more famous hotel chains
When you order a room in one of these hotels, the probability of deception is significantly lower. However, you should not expect a unique location and unusual design of the room. As a rule, large hotels offer comfortable rooms, but they charge a good price for them.
Reviews checking on the Internet
In search of hotels many users turn to meta-search engines or booking services which is very convenient, but do not forget about scammers in the network and one-day sites that disappear immediately after payment. Therefore, before ordering a room, you should study carefully the reviews about the chosen hotel on the Internet.
Contact the hotel before payment
Before making a payment of the room, you should contact the hotel to confirm the bank data and payment details, the amount of money paid and the time of check-in. You can send an email or call the contact numbers given on the hotel's website. It is the only way you can make sure that the room is really booked and the hotel staff is friendly and ready to answer the questions of a client.
Checking the reliability of the hotel site
It is not always possible to call the hotel and make sure if the staff is decent, so before you book a room, it is worth checking the reliability of the hotel's website. One-day websites, disappearing immediately after a user informed criminals of the data of his/her payment card, will not spend money on the purchase of SSL and TLS-certificates, and you should take this into account. The information about the hotel’s license and documents of a body corporate registration should always be present on the hotel’s website.
Using a Virtual Bank Card
To pay for air tickets and hotels, you should use a virtual bank card that protects a simple consumer from the actions of scammers. You should not pay for purchases on the Internet by a card that is tied to a real bank account where a large amount of money is stored because scammers can get access to your funds.
Verification of the browser address bar
Before paying for a hotel room, you should check if the address bar of the browser has additional characters in the entry before the unique URL (https: //). The absence of third party letters more or less guarantees that the information about the transaction will not be transferred to third parties.
Checking mobile devices for viruses
Today, mobile gadgets have almost replaced conventional computers. Smartphones’ users can easily book air tickets and hotels, make purchases on the Internet using small gadgets, so cases of mobile fraud have become more frequent in recent years. To avoid a virus attack and not to lose your funds from your bank account, you should check if the gadget has harmful software. What is more, you should avoid using suspicious applications.
When you book a hotel, remember that the savings should be reasonable. It is not worth pursuing low prices, as it might cause not the most pleasant consequences — a spoiled trip, unjustified expectations and a loss of funds.