Be careful with holiday reservations! Fraudulent websites are causing increasing grievances

While attention is being drawn to the increasing number of grievances caused by fake websites when planning vacations, experts have warned that reservations should be made through corporate firms and payments should only be made to corporate bank accounts.

Levent Küçük, President of the Consumers Association (TÜDER), pointed out in his assessment that citizens have increasingly suffered from grievances due to fake websites when making holiday reservations in recent years.

Küçük stated that corporate firms should be preferred for holiday reservations, saying, "Our consumers who make reservations by choosing tourism firms from search engines must be very careful, because scammers post a lot of fake advertisements on the internet."

Pointing out that scammers act with the intent to defraud by imitating websites, Küçük used the expression, "Consumers should not choose the first firm that appears in their search engine results, but rather a firm they have researched well." Küçük stated that they have encountered many consumers who lost their money to scammers and were therefore unable to go on vacation.

Stating that reviews about a firm are particularly important for consumers, Küçük said, "They can make payments to corporate firms using credit cards and through the banking system. Bungalow tourism has gradually started to gain traction in our country. Here, individual operators are generally at the forefront. It is beneficial to choose those businesses after visiting the facility and being sure of the service they provide."

Advising consumers to report any problems they experience with bungalows, hotels, or tourism service providers to the authorized authorities, Küçük said, "Citizens can document negative services they encounter after booking with photos and file complaints with consumer arbitration committees, provincial directorates of culture and tourism, and TÜRSAB. If they face a fraud incident, they can also file a complaint with law enforcement and public prosecutor's offices."

Ali Safa Alaçam, President of the Sapanca Villa and Bungalow Operators Association (SAVİBU), also drew attention to the fact that citizens frequently suffer grievances when renting bungalow-type houses, warning, "It is important for citizens to make reservations through officially certified travel agencies, especially when renting villas or bungalows in the Sapanca region."

Stating that as an association, they offer citizens a service to verify whether a villa or bungalow in Sapanca is reliable, Alaçam said they aim to reduce potential fraud cases to zero. Alaçam reported that approximately 250 thousand inquiries have been made in 2 years through the free verification system they established, and more than 200 thousand attempted crimes have been prevented.

Offering advice to citizens who will be renting in different regions, Alaçam noted the following:

"It is important for consumers to see the house by calling the owner of the bungalow to be rented via video call, and if renting through a travel agency, to make the payment only to the company's account and write 'reservation fee' in the description. Citizens are often deceived by fake accounts opened on social media using real house photos and videos. Although there is usually only accommodation and breakfast service, scammers create a perception as if they are offering services not included in the price, such as 'breakfast, lunch, dinner, and lake tours' at an affordable price to make the advertisement attractive."

News Source: AA