Wisconsin's Weekend Morning News
WWMN Interview: Michelle Reinen from DATCP talks Summer Vacation Scams 7-28-24
Well, some is almost over. A lot of people already took their vacations or they've booked them way in advance, but if you're one of those individuals who kind of waits for the last minute or you like to be spontaneous, how legit are some of those vacations you find on social media? Joining us on our Tri-County Contracting Hotline is Michelle Reinan. She is our consumer expert from DatCap and yep, you're getting complaints on this already, aren't you? Oh, we sure are. There's a new twist to this. We've received reports that there's a new variant to what we think of as our traditional vacation scams that prey on people. And this is that the scammers are trying to use an invite-only group that appears reputable and legitimate and often supported by personal testimony, but scammers are just convincing consumers to send money to a fake timeshare owner or business who wants to rent out their space and they often request payment through peer-to-peer payment apps like Venmo, Cash App, or Zellie and then promise to send you more details before your trip. But unfortunately, those details never come and they cut up all communication once they've received your money. So you're out of vacation and the money you would have spent on it. Do legitimate businesses still solicit through social media? Yeah, they do. Many legitimate timeshare companies offer rentals for unused properties and they don't use social media that often, but they still do. So we really encourage you to avoid social media because of the mix of scammers using that and just go to the property where you actually want to rent and visit a timeshare's website to verify the listing and use their third party booking site if they are attached to one, rather than just responding to those social media posts. You can use that as your idea generator. Just don't use that as your follow through for booking or for clicking on those links. Now, what do you do if you think you've been involved in a travel or a vacation scam? Report the transaction to police immediately because it may actually be a theft and impersonation issue, but then call consumer protection so we can give you additional guidance and you can reach us on the consumer protection hotline at 1-800-422-7128.