How to avoid vacation rental scams

A beautiful house, a great price, and a host who wants to move fast. That's how a lot of vacation rental scams start. I work in luxury vacation rentals as a director of revenue, and I recently wrote a guest piece for the Better Business Bureau on how travelers can protect themselves. Here's the short version.

The scams are getting better

The Federal Trade Commission recorded $274 million in losses from travel, vacation and timeshare scams in 2024. Much of the growth comes from AI: in 2024, Booking.com's security chief said phishing scams had risen 500 to 900 percent over 18 months as fraudsters used AI to copy real listings and build convincing fake booking sites. The good news is that the defense hasn't changed much.

Five steps before you pay

• Book where there's accountability. Use an established booking site, a property manager with a real office and reviews, or a travel advisor, and keep every message and payment inside that system.
• Never pay by wire transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency or a payment app sent to a stranger. Legitimate rentals take credit cards, which give you a way to dispute a charge.
• Check that the listing is real. Search the address on a map, run the photos through a reverse image search, and be wary if the same photos show up under different names or cities.
• Get the terms in writing. Before money moves, you should have the total price, the cancellation policy and the check-in details in a confirmation you can save.
• Slow down when you're rushed. "Another family wants it, so I need payment today" is a classic pressure tactic. A real host can wait an hour while you check.

Red flags

• A price far below everything similar nearby.
• A host who asks to move the conversation off the booking site or onto text.
• A website address that's almost, but not quite, the real company's name.
• No phone number, no reviews, or reviews that all appeared in the same week.

If something feels off

Stop before you pay. If you've already paid, call your card company right away, report the listing to the site it appeared on, and file a report at ReportFraud.ftc.gov.

If you're looking at a villa or rental for an upcoming trip, send it to me and I'll help you check it out before you book. There's no fee for my planning.