Travel scams are also common during the holidays. These scams are a smaller umbrella term to a few scams. First, they will mimic travel sites. It is important to always look at the domain. The domain of websites is what I call the “dot” for example look for the last “dot com” (.com), “dot net” (.net), “dot org” (.org) etc. the domain should never change. If it does, it is a good chance the scammers redirected you to a false website. Example, dcsheriff.net is the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office domain. Every time you go further into the website, it will add something to it, dcsheriff.net/community, or even further, dcsheriff.net/community/senior-safe. Looking at the last “dot” you see the domain never changes, it remains dcsheriff.net. Websites that have been compromised will start with a legitimate domain but the more you go into the website you get redirected. Example, dcsheriff.net is the domain you are looking for. You click on what you think is “senior safe” but if this site was compromised, it could say something like dcsheriff.net/community/senior-safe.org. The last “dot” is senior-safe.org… NOT dcsheriff.net. As you see, the words are the same and can easily be overlooked but it is NOT the same domain. This is a good indicator that the website has been compromised.
Lastly, still under the travel scams umbrella, is the Airline Call Scams. Criminals will call random people, knowing it is a popular time to travel, stating something like, “you purchased a stand-by ticket to a flight that is filling up fast. To guarantee your seat, you can upgrade your ticket that will cost $XXX.” Victims become concerned that they will not be able to travel, quickly want to “guarantee” that their flight is safe and pay a false payment to the scammer. Following our phone safety rules, NEVER GIVE MONEY OR PERSONAL INFO TO SOMEONE WHO CALLS YOU, you can protect yourself from this scam. With this information, end the call and google maps the airline to call the accurate number to verify the concern.
For more details on scam safety tips, go to the safety tips tab on the Senior Safe website.