Scams To Look Out For This Memorial Day Weekend

 Memorial Day Weekend is the unofficial start of summer in the United States. As people all across the country are heading out for that first summer getaway, scammers are on the lookout for their next prey. That attack can come from anywhere, including your vacation. Here's my list of the top 5 scams to look out for this Memorial Day Weekend and all summer long...

1. Front Desk Scam

This is a very common scam in hotels. So common, in fact, that many hotels send out a warning to guests as soon as they check in. How this scam works is that a crook calls on your hotel room phone, posing as someone from the front desk. They'll ask for your card information, often times going for your debit card and they'll say something along the lines of 'we need to verify your card so that we have it on file otherwise you need to check out immediately'. By conveying a sense of extreme urgency, a hotel guest might be inclined to give out the information. This is what a scammer is banking on. Once you give over that card information, the scammer can move that money out of your account and into theirs in the blink of an eye. Big ways to protect yourself from this scam - never give information over the phone, always go directly to the front desk and see the person you give your information to. Also, never use a debit card. Use your credit card as they often times have fraud protection or you can always pay in cash if necessary.

2. Timeshare Trap

This is common in all vacation spots, especially in tropical locals. They get you in the door with an amount of money or a gift card, sometimes tickets to an event or a complimentary dinner. They they tell you it's only going to be around 90 minutes. That's the first lie the timeshare companies tell you. It turns out that it's a relentless sales pitch for timeshares that often goes on for hours on end. You say to the first salesperson you're not interested. But that doesn't seem to faze the timeshare company as they send one salesperson after another to try and get you to sign up for these timeshares. Among the lies they tell you that it'll be easy to cancel and that it's an investment. That's...WRONG! WRONG! A THOUSAND TIMES WRONG! 

The process for cancelling a timeshare is Nintendo hard and the market for selling is virtually non-existent. Plus, you'll often find language in timeshare contracts that benefits the timeshare company and not you. If you find yourself in one of these presentations, take a supply of easy to make food and drink - water or soda in smaller cans. That way, you'll be able to think straight in the event you run into a timeshare company that resorts to shady tactics like getting potential buyers drunk. And if you find yourself trapped in a timeshare contract - lawyer up. If there's one word these timeshare companies understand full well, it's 'lawsuit'.

3. Credit/Debit Card Skimming

This one's another classic scheme. Criminals put skimming devices inside ATMs or gas pumps and wait for unsuspecting people to slide their card inside. Once they do, the crooks have the card number and can clone the card to make transactons the banks think are the actual cardholder's but instead go to the criminals. If a debit card is skimmed, it's the hotel front desk scam and there goes your hard earned savings. To protect yourself, always check for skimming devices no matter where you go. If you're at your local bank, go straight to the teller desk - safer to see the person you're giving your card to. Same goes for a gas station - choose a pump near the attendant as crooks prefer to work in the shadows.

4. Fly With Any Airline

This was big in the 2010s and is seeing a resurgence now. You get a letter in the mail saying that you've qualified for complimentary airline tickets and hotel stay. The catch is...you have to go for a 90 minute presentation. Then there's relentless salespeople using high pressure tactics to get you to sign up for vacation packages that cost thousands, even tens of thousands of dollars. Wait a minute...sounds a lot like the timeshare scams, doesn't it? Well, yes - but it uses an entirely different tactic. That tactic is relentless soliciting and continuous bilking of unsuspecting victims out of thousands of dollars. Plus they use outside party marketing companies to evade prosecution. If you get a 'Fly With Any Airline' letter in the mail, best to just toss it in the shredder because...it's a scam!

5. Fake Foreign Lottery

The last one on this list is a huge one - it is the fake foreign lottery. You'll be approached by someone telling you that you've won a foreign lottery worth hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars or even a big prize like a car or a luxury vacation. But then they tell you there's a catch - you have to pay exhorbitant amounts in taxes and fees to get your money or prize. That's the red flag. If you didn't buy a lottery ticket in a foreign country, there's no cash or prize waiting for you and, well...IT'S A SCAM!

There's a whole lot more scams out and about, so always be vigilant and protect yourselves if you're out on the road, in the air or on the high seas this Memorial Day Weekend. Stay safe and to these gutter type scam artists...SHAME ON YOU!