Published on : Tuesday, August 6, 2019
A young family from Michigan almost lost $300 when they tried to re-book a flight to Japan on what looked like a Delta website.
It’s a good warning, as summer travel is packed with flight delays and other mishaps.
Naomi Poel, 33, and her husband Hunter Pulaski, who live in Ada Township in Michigan, were planning to take their two-year-old daughter Holley Poel to visit family in Japan. The family was already at their in-laws house, which is close to the airport, when they were alerted that their 10:15 a.m. flight that day would be delayed.
“We’re travelling with a two-year-old, so we were panicking,” Naomi said in a phone interview.
They worried that one delay on the existing flight would cause them to miss a connecting flight. And what would happen if the family couldn’t sit together? Could the two-year-old somehow end up in a row by herself?
So they started Googling for a solution.
“Unfortunately, doing a Google search is not always going to get you a good result,” said Troy Baker, manager of communications for the Better Business Bureau Serving Western Michigan.
The first thing that popped up in their online search was for a site that implied it was connected to Delta but it wasn’t.
Like a lot of things, plenty of online sites are mimicking big brand names to try to gain your trust when it comes to travel.
You might run into a fake airline, a less-than-upfront travel agent or another phony site when you’re trying to book a quick trip. Take time to know who you’re really dealing with before giving any personal information or making any payments. That’s true even if you get an email out of the blue that appears legitimate.
Baker said the website that imitated Delta did look like the real deal with the first words on the site saying: “We, at Delta Air Lines.”
Yet, Baker said, there were some red flags. The site used a picture of an airplane without a Delta logo.
And then, there was the wording at the bottom in the “About Us” section. Somehow as they explained the company’s story, the website started using lyrics from “The Brady Bunch” and “Laverne & Shirley” TV theme songs. One part even said: “That’s the way we all became the Brady Bunch.”
“As a consumer, if I saw that I would run,” Baker said.
Even so, Baker said scammers are using just enough of the correct wording to trick someone in rush.
The actor James McAvoy, for example, admitted in October 2018 that he was almost scammed out of nearly $13,000 when planning a family vacation to Spain. He had attempted to book a trip to The Ritz-Carlton but the website wasn’t the real hotel site.
Baker noted that one way McAvoy avoided the scam was by stopping in his tracks when he was asked to send personal data, such as a picture of his passport, for the hotel booking.
“This can happen to absolutely everybody, even this big Hollywood star,” Baker said.
Consumers are advised to take their time. Read a large amount of any fine print. Don’t rush to give any money. Pay with a credit card instead of a debit card when possible, as credit cards offer consumers more protections.
And stay far away from any agent or travel site that demands you pay for any service or travel expenses with gift cards.