If a holiday offer seems too good to be true, then special caution is required. A recent case of fraud illustrates this warning very clearly.
28.01.2025 –A family from Aargau was looking for a nice place to stay to celebrate New Year's Eve together. They came across an unbeatable offer: a luxurious chalet in Ischgl for 4000 euros. After quickly booking the chalet via the booking app they received the following message: "Unfortunately the chalet is already booked but we will be happy to provide you with another one.” A link to a fake booking page was then sent to them via WhatsApp. The website looked exactly the same as the real one, so the family booked the accommodation through it.
But alarm bells started ringing after the accommodation was booked: The money was transferred to a Spanish bank account. In addition, all 5-star reviews of the accommodation came from Costa Rica or Mexico. After a short online search, certainty follows: the offer was a scam.
Remember these tips to protect yourself from scams like these:
- Always type in web addresses yourself.
- Never click on links and never open attachments.
- Verify the payee.
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