Last Minute Family Vacation Rental Network

DATE PUBLISHED: 2003

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Better Business Bureau

PUBLICATION: Better Business Bureau               

SUMMARY: With Memorial Day approaching and summer not far behind, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) is advising consumers on how to spot and avoid the threat of vacation and travel-related fraud. Vacation scams cost consumers over $10 billion each year. Out of the 3,900 industries the BBB monitors, the travel industry consistently ranks near or in the top 25 for number of complaints.

 http://www.bbb.org/alerts/article.asp?ID=765

DATE PUBLISHED: October 5, 2000

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Nick Raio                       

PUBLICATION: Hotel Interactive             

SUMMARY: A story from a user who got ripped off: After hopping an old 727 from Miami to the coast of Mexico, my wife and I were just a customs check and a cab ride away from the white sand beaches of Cancun. We were on our honeymoon, anxious to relax beside the Caribbean and sip Margaritas under the warm Mexican sun. While neither of us had been to Mexico before, we felt we knew what to expect: sun and fun spiced with a typical tourist scene, including a million-and-one ways to spend our American dollars, some frivolously, some foolishly… http://www.hotelinteractive.com/index.asp?page_id=5000&article_id=727

DATE PUBLISHED: 27 January, 2007

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Ideal Vacation Rentals              

PUBLICATION: Ideal Vacation Rentals                           

SUMMARY: This blog is about internet fraud that targets the vacation rental industry from time to time. The blog includes questions and answers about fraudulent activity, such as, as a vacation rental owner do I have to worry about internet fraud?http://idealvacationrentalsblog.blogspot.com/2007/01/internet-fraud-targets-vacation-rental.html

DATE PUBLISHED: N/A

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: David E. Sorkin 

PUBLICATION: Spam Laws                     

SUMMARY: SpamLaws.com is dedicated to providing accurate and up-to-date information on issues affecting internet security. Spam.com discusses vacation fraud and includes links, such as stop fraud and phishing, and coastal vacation scam.

 http://www.spamlaws.com/vacation.html 

DATE PUBLISHED: 2008

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: National Consumers League                  

PUBLICATION: National Consumers League’s Internet Fraud Watch                

SUMMARY:  Website includes links to Internet Fraud Tips, Telemarketing Fraud Tips such as, be skeptical of offers for “free” trips, be cautious about unsolicited emails for travel, and realize that the deal may not be as good as you think and includes a fraud complaint form you can download. http://www.fraud.org/tips/internet/travelfraud.htm 

DATE PUBLISHED: 14 January, 2008

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Vacation Rental Direct              

PUBLICATION: Vacation Rental Direct                           

SUMMARY: Vacation rental fraud is a huge obstacle to the growth of the vacation rental industry. This website lists each vacation rental owner scam with examples. The scams include overseas cashiers checks, vacation rental renting scams, scams on vacation rentals by owner listing sites, and seven ways to avoid vacation rental fraud.

 http://blog.vacationrentaldirect.com/?p=203  

DATE PUBLISHED: August 2000

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Federal Trade Commission                    

PUBLICATION: Federal Trade Commission                                 

SUMMARY: Have you ever been tempted to sign up to win a “free” trip at a fair, trade show or restaurant? This website explains why you should be wary if you get a so-called free vacation offer. For example, the word “offer” can be a clue to hidden charges, such as when you get the phone call, or place the call in response to a postcard, letter, fax or Internet ad; you also get a sales pitch for a supposedly luxurious trip - one that you could pay dearly for.

 http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/conline/pubs/tmarkg/trvlfrd.shtm  

DATE PUBLISHED: N/A

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Northwestern Health Sciences University         

PUBLICATION: Northwestern Health Sciences University                                  

SUMMARY: This website sets the scene: The excitement has been building for months and the time has finally arrived: Vacation! In minutes you’ll land in tropical paradise. You can’t believe you got airfare, accommodations at a lavish hotel and a week full of spectacular activities for such a low price! Yes, you were skeptical at first, but the phone operator assured you this was a special, one-time-only deal of a lifetime, so you couldn’t possibly pass it up! When the cab driver picks you up from the airport to take you to your “five-star” hotel, it looks nothing like you expected. It must be some mistake… The website also includes the following topics: if it looks too good to be true…it probably is and what you can do to keep from getting scammed,http://www.nwhealth.edu/healthyU/findBalance/vacfraud.html 

DATE PUBLISHED: N/A

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: US Postal Inspection Service    

PUBLICATION: US Postal Inspection Service                              

SUMMARY: Website includes information on how a travel scam can trick you and how there is always a catch: “Congratulations! You have won a free, 4-day, 3-night vacation for two in beautiful, sun-drenched Bermuda.” Sound too good to be true? It is. When you get a postcard or letter in the mail (or an unexpected phone call from an unknown company) promising a complimentary vacation in an exotic spot, someone is probably trying to make you a victim of the free vacation scam. Don’t fall for it.

 http://www.usps.com/postalinspectors/fraud/vacation.htm

DATE PUBLISHED: July 2004

AUTHOR/PRODUCER: Aaron Larson                 

PUBLICATION: Expert Law                                

SUMMARY:

This web page starts of by saying; it is not at all uncommon for people to be told that they have won a free vacation. It is extremely rare for such a vacation to in fact be free, and in some cases the total cost may exceed what you would pay if you booked the trip on your own. The contents include “free” and “discount” vacation deception and protecting yourself.

http://www.expertlaw.com/library/consumer/free_vacation_fraud.html