With the holiday season in the offing, you’ve probably already booked yours and you family’s flights to some exotic destination to round off the New Year. Christmas and New Year is a great time for travel but all too often, amidst all the excitement, it can be easy to lower your guard.
It’s more important that ever to be alert and maintain high situational awareness. If something seems too good to be true, it almost always is. Here are a few things to look out for when you are for your time away:
Vacation rental scams – Always stick to established, secured websites. You’d be surprised at how many people have been scammed by bogus websites that require advanced payment, only to discover that the place they paid for doesn’t even actually exist!
Fraudulent websites can look real and make bogus offers. Watch out for third party sites selling hotels or other goods and services at a discount. Use reputable services and be sure to dig around on a site to make sure it is the real thing before you take out your credit card.
Excursions, Tours and and Tourist Attractions: Always book activities through your hotel or a reputable travel agency. If you are unsure about a website, whenever possible, pay with a credit card. That way, you can dispute any charges if you’re scammed.
We always recommend purchasing travel insurance whenever you plan to leave the country; you never know what can happen and it pays to be well prepared for the unexpected. You can find more information here, as well as request a quote.
Alternatively you can pay us a visit at our branches (Maison Esplanade – Victoria, Pension Complex –Baie St. Anne Praslin, Green Corner –Providence) or call us on 429 5000 or send an email to info@sacos.sc.
