Beware these 5 travel scams, from friendly flirts to digital gold diggers

Travel could be one of life’s great, enriching joys – often preceded by eager anticipation and met with euphoric excitement once a person plants his or her feet in a new land.Dizzying excitement, however, could be an opportunity for scammers to make a score.“We need to learn to not mix emotions with planning our travel,” Amy Nofziger of AARP Fraud Watch Network told Fox News Digital in a telephone interview.“Don’t mix FOMO (fear of missing out) with any financial decisions,” she said.Nofziger is one of the nation’s leading fraud experts.She spoke before the U.S.

Senate last week in Washington, D.C., about the fraud crisis plaguing America.It’s reported that crowds, frequent purchases, language barriers and heavy reliance on websites and apps help make travelers especially vulnerable to hustlers.“The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) received more than 55,000 reports of fraud linked to travel, vacations and time-share plans in 2023,” the AARP, headquartered in Washington, D.C., reported in May. “Thirty percent of Americans have been scammed or know someone who’s fallen victim while booking or taking trips, and 34% lost $1,000 or more,” according to a 2023 survey by online protection company McAfee.Here are five signs that scammers could be trying to steal the excitement from your dream trip — and what to do about it. Travelers could sometimes bank on friendly, informative locals to elevate a vacation experience.European travel expert Rick Steves warned, however, of an array of people who may seem too friendly for a first encounter.These scammers wear many types of camouflage.There’s the local who may offer unsolicited advice in order to divert your attention to pick your pocket.There’s the good Samaritan who claims he or she found something you lost while also working an uncharitable angle.And there’s “the attractive flirt,” said Steves, who might be feeding your ego to satisfy a scam.“Get to know Europeans,” Steves s...