Katharina Buczek
About one hundred and twenty-two million people visited the state of Florida last year.
And according to Governor Ron DeSantis, tourism to the sunshine state has continued to surpass pre-pandemic levels.
With so many people hoping to hit the region’s shorelines this season, though, countless scammers are ready to prey.
So, Attorney General Ashley Moody has launched a “Summer Scam Series” to raise awareness about the common traps and pitfalls that tourists fall victim to during the summer months.
“Florida is one of the most popular vacation destinations in the nation. Scammers will take advantage of this by creating fake vacation rental listings in hopes of stealing personal information and money,” Moody explained.
She also outlined eight key precautions that visitors need to take when renting a vacation home.
First, if a listing requires you to leave the website or app in order to pay through a third-party platform, that is “a major red flag.”
You should also do a reverse image search of the photos included with the rental property’s listing. If they are being duplicated and used for numerous listings, the rental is likely a scam.
And, if you are unsure, you can always ask the lister for additional photos of the property.
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