Look ahead to journey scams when reserving last-minute holidays

The last few weeks of summer are here, and with many people planning last-minute trips before fall officially starts, safety experts are advising travelers to be cautious of common scams.

Reported travel fraud losses have increased threefold since 2021, up from $99 million to $297 million in 2025, according to Federal Trade Commission data analyzed by LocalsInsider. That analysis also found that Californians had an annual travel fraud loss of $33,206,829, an $84,214 loss per 100,000 residents.

Scammers can begin targeting travelers as soon as they book a trip. Online booking sites can be risky, especially since scammers can pay for their fake websites to move to the top of search engine results pages. The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) recommends scrolling past the first few websites on the top of a results page when looking for online booking vendors, until the results are no longer marked as sponsored or boosted. Even still, researching companies to ensure they are legitimate is important no matter their placement on the results page.

The FTC also advises that travelers obtain specific details and travel plans from service providers before committing to anything, or providing any payment information. When ready to pay, ensure that the requested payment methods are not suspicious, such as vendors asking for payment in cryptocurrency, gift cards or wire transfers.

If using a travel agent, make sure they are properly registered. All travel agents and companies in the state of California must register every year with the Attorney General’s office in order to do business, and they are required to display their registration number in all advertising material. While the Attorney General’s Office warns that registering with the state does not guarantee that a seller of travel is reputable, they are safer options than unregistered counterparts.

Road trippers and those traveling solely by car can still be vulnerable to fraud. Scammers have used the threat of ‘unpaid tolls’ to lure travelers to click on unsafe links sent by text and email and share their banking information.

Experts say that the rising cost of travel and vacations may be pushing people to hasty decisions and less vigilance.

“The cost of travel is getting more expensive each year, and that’s changing how people make decisions,” said Abhishek Karnik, head of threat research at software security firm McAfee, in a news release. “When prices are high and availability feels tight, people will likely move faster. Scammers take advantage of that by impersonating the travel brands and messages consumers already trust. AI is making these scams faster to create, more convincing, and easier to scale.”

McAfee estimates that more than one in three Americans have encountered a travel-related cyberthreat, and that nine in 10 travelers have felt pressure to book travel arrangements quickly.

Once you’re on your trip, the Transportation and Security Administration says to be wary of using free public Wi-Fi and to avoid making online payments or entering sensitive data while on unsecured networks.

The TSA has also warned against charging devices at USB ports in public areas and airports as they can be used to install malware.

“Hackers can install malware at USB ports (we’ve been told that’s called ‘juice/port jacking’)” said the TSA in a 2025 Facebook post. “So, when you’re at an airport do not plug your phone directly into a USB port.”

Juice jacking is not considered widespread and can be countered by up-to-date software systems on devices that require permission for external systems to access data. But the TSA and others still recommend using a charging brick or AC adapter when possible.

“Juice jacking is one of those strange cybersecurity risks that’s often talked about more than it’s actually seen in the wild,” said Jake Moore, global security advisor at cybersecurity firm ESET, in a news release. “However, this is more about being careful than paranoid as I’d be more concerned about someone scanning a malicious QR code that took them to a fake data grabbing website than charging their phone at an airport.“

Readers can report suspected travel scams to the FTC or to the California Attorney General’s Office.