Whether your travel plans include cruising, staying in a hotel, flying in an airplane — or all three — sophisticated scammers are lurking online maliciously trying to trick you.
Although they’re constantly evolving their tactics in a never-ending quest to defraud travelers, scammers often employ Google’s helpful products and services to serve their cruel agenda.
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Manipulating Google Search results through ‘malvertising’ is a scammer-favorite tactic often used to trick unsuspecting searchers. In travel malvertising, scammers have found an effective way to take advantage of the fact that many people turn to Google Search when they need to call their cruise line, hotel, or airline.
When a cruise passenger falls for a malicious ad inserted in Google Search results, their phone call is directed to someone posing as a cruise line representative who typically offers them a cruise deal that sounds too good to be true.
Luckily, many people know to be wary of these kinds of cruise deals, but scammers still succeed in tricking some travelers, since convincing fake ads make cruisers think they’ve called their cruise line directly.
A recent thread in the Carnival Cruise Fans Reddit community revealed just how easy it is to fall for one of these scams.
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These days, it’s more important than ever to verify phone numbers for cruise lines, airlines, and other travel companies.
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Trending Google scam targets cruise passengers
“I called the Carnival Cruise Line number [listed in Google Search results] because I was having trouble with a minor check-in issue online. While I was explaining the issue on the phone, the agent said there is a promotion going on and if he cancels my reservation and rebooks the exact same cruise for me, he can get me about $1,000 cheaper,” adhdhuh posted in the Reddit community.
Other Carnival cruisers cautioned adhdhuh that it sounded like a scam and suggested that the cruiser double-check to make sure they didn’t call a fake phone number posing as the cruise line.
“People pay top dollar to have their scam number show up first on website searches. They are banking on you not wanting to find the number on the website and just Google for the number,” mexicopink explained.
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It turned out that a fake phone number was exactly what the cruiser used. It was easy to mistake it for the actual Carnival Cruise Line number, because the sponsored listing that appeared at the top of the search results associated the number with carnival.com.
Although this type of travel scam isn’t new, it tends to resurface at times of year when there’s a rise in travel and travel bookings. And Royal Caribbean and other cruise lines’ passengers are targeted, too.
The best way to avoid it? Don’t click any phone numbers directly from Google Search results. Verify that you’ve found the legitimate cruise line website and navigate there to confirm the cruise line phone number before calling.
How does Google respond to travel ad scams?
Although more travel malvertising seems to be making it through Google’s security checks lately, the search engine does work to prevent it.
“At Google, we strictly prohibit ads that hide or misrepresent information about a business, product, or service. Ads impersonating other brands or businesses to solicit money or personal information are prohibited, and we actively monitor for this type of misrepresentation — including by suspending advertisers for egregious violations,” Google stated in a recent online scams advisory.
Google’s Trust & Safety teams warned in the advisory that there’s been an increase in travel scams as the summer vacation season gets underway.
Related: Carnival Cruise Line passengers targeted by more travel scams
“Fake travel websites lure users into booking travel with a promise of ‘too good to be true’ prices, experiences, or discounts. These deceptive sites often imitate well-known hotels or pose as legitimate travel agencies, a tactic particularly prevalent during holidays and major events when people book travel via messaging apps or phone,” the advisory explained.
Google also offered some safety tips related to online travel scams:
Beware of low prices and big discounts that seem way less expensive than anywhere else.Use Google tools such as “About This Result” and My Ad Center to verify website security.Steer clear of wire transfers and opt for secure payments that offer buyer protection.Confirm bookings directly with hotels or airlines (or cruise lines).
A trusted travel agent can also help you manage your booking and avoid falling victim to a travel scam.
(The Arena Group will earn a commission if you book a cruise.)
Make a free appointment with Come Cruise With Me’s Travel Agent Partner, Postcard Travel, or email Amy Post at [email protected] or call or text her at 386-383-2472.
