Columbia, SC (WLTX) - The summertime travel season is here and as families hit the road, News 19 has some tips to keep your vacation from having any summer time blues.
"Everybody's on vacation and scam artists hone in on that," said Carrie Grube Lybarker with the South Carolina Department of Consumer Affairs. "They always follow trends. They always follow headlines. So, they're definitely going to go after folks trying to hit the road and have this relaxing vacation."
If you travel by air, Lybarker says an email that appears to be sent by American Airlines is actually a fake even though it looks legit. The email is just trying access your personal information.
"We just caution consumers not to open emails they're not expecting," said Lybarker. "If you haven't booked a flight don't open it."
If you have booked a flight and aren't sure about an email, contact the airline directly to see if they're the actual sender.
No matter how you travel, Lybarker says you have to be careful where you plan on staying.
"When they do it they'll take legitimate postings online, cut and past them into Craigslist or some other site and put their contact information for it," said Lybarker. "They may even make it a better deal."
To avoid sending money to the wrong guy, Lybarker says pay with a credit card only and refuse any wire transfer offers.
You can also do background checks on the property by looking at the listings online and searching the property deeds website in that area.
And when you're not vacationing, those looking for summer jobs should be careful who they choose to work for.
The Better Business Bureau says there are red flags when searching for an employer:
1. Full time pay for part time work.
2. An employer asking for an advance fee via wire transfer
3. No written job description