How to avoid holiday scams this summer

December and January are among the busiest times for tourism in South Africa, which means more fraudsters will be operating with increasingly sophisticated scams.

These scammers will typically target tourists and locals planning their festive season getaways.

This can include last-minute weekend or school-holiday ‘deals,’ fake listings, and rates which are too good to be true.

“Fake listings are a huge one, especially on social media, because there's a low sort of barrier to entry for advertising,” warns travel journalist Iga Motylska.

Many of these websites will pretend to be affiliated with organisations like SATSA, FEDHASA, or similar groups in order to seem more credible and will use fake guest reviews on their website.

If a company claims to be a member of an association, it is important to verify whether it is legitimate and what the membership entails.

Bait-and-switch itineraries are also common, where a reputable brand name is used in the advert, but a different company name is on the invoice.

Some red flags to look out for are:

• Pressure to pay upfront and immediately to secure a deal.
• Prices far below market value.
• Payments only via EFT to a personal account or via crypto.
• WhatsApp-only businesses with no registered business details, no traceable landline or office address.
• Different business details on the advert and the invoice or contract.
• A sudden flood of five-star reviews, all brand-new reviewers, or identical wording in the reviews.

Iga Motylska, Travel Journalist and Founder of Eagerjourneys.com in conversation with Relebogile Mabotja on 702.

Listen to the full interview in the audio player below: