As featured on the deVere Group website

As the summer holidaying season kicks-in to full swing, scammers start coming up with new ways to empty your wallet. Here are five tips to keep you on the lookout:

1. The fake front desk call.

It would be highly discourteous for the front desk to call you in the middle of the night, right? However, when you’re fast asleep in a hotel room, you may not question the caller when they say they are calling from the front desk because there has been a computer glitch and you are asked to verify the credit card information you have on file.

However, it is not the front desk. That is a scam artist calling you, ready to spend all your money by the time you get up for breakfast in the morning.

2. The hacked WIFI hot spot.

In hacker-speak, a pineapple is a device used to create a fake WIFI hotspot where the scammers will give it a similar or identical name to a hotel or coffee shop’s actual hotspot to make it look legitimate and wait for people to log on. From there, anything the user does it is easily spied upon.

The rise in pineapples has proliferated as people use more wireless and mobile devices and conduct more sensitive activities like financial transactions over the web.

Some cyber-scammers can even set up a hotspot with a fake name and fake login prompts, to get the victim’s name and password right off the bat.

3. The disappearing MoneyPak deposit.

A MoneyPak is an electronic service used to load funds onto a prepaid debit card. Just like its predecessor, the wire transfer, it is quick, anonymous and untraceable.

The bad news for travellers who think they are paying a hotel, travel agent, or other kind of travel broker for a reservation is that there may be a person on the other line who is after their money.

Such scammers may represent themselves as a huge bargain, such as discount last-minute plane tickets. They would usually ask for the full 14-digit credit card number and security code, instead of offering a safe payment through paypal.

4. The hijacked ATM.

Con artists are now using skimmers that can read card data on ATMs, petrol pumps, and store payment terminals.  If you are travelling and visiting an unfamiliar ATM, you are less likely to notice if something is awry. Instead, use ATMs located at banks or better still, go directly to a bank cashier.

5. The nonexistent vacation rental.

Millions of people are now using websites such as AirBnB and HomeAway.com for cheap or unconventional places to stay. However, this increasing popularity means that scam artists can use these sites to look for victims more easily.

Scammers put up fake property and ask for money orders and wire transfers because they are quick, anonymous and untraceable.

For financial help and a safe happy future contact Brigitte Rupp details on The Riviera Woman.