BrandShield's monitoring has corroborated spikes in cloned airline and hotel booking sites that copy real booking flows. This surge shows how AI is helping fraudsters create convincing travel brand lookalikes that are harder to distinguish from legitimate providers. https://www.brandshield.com/travel-scams-online-brand-protection/
I've seen those AI scammers in action. They use travel ads on social media that look like a great deal, but the website is fake. One looked just like the real airline site. They're just after your payment info. My advice is simple: when you see an offer, check it somewhere else first. Also, get a good scam blocker extension. Don't fall for it.
I am growing increasingly concerned about AI-generated phishing emails and confirmation messages to travelers. The current phishing and confirmation emails have become so sophisticated, using natural-sounding language and personalizing travel information based on stolen data, that they appear legitimate. Travelers are vulnerable when they click a link or download an attachment; attackers can then obtain their payment information and loyalty program account credentials. The nature of phishing and confirmation requests has changed, so "check for typos" is no longer helpful.
Fake reviews and "fabricated" travel experiences are also being fueled by AI, on booking sites and on social media. Now generative tools are able to produce a high volume of positive reviews that appear to be legitimate and detailed enough to push those same scams to the top of search results for travelers. As a result many travelers will book an experience or destination that does not actually exist. It is crucial to cross check reviews of travel destinations and experiences across multiple trusted sources.
As an owner who travels frequently for conferences and site visits, I've learned that the scams targeting business owners are different from those that affect common tourists. The scammers target us differently, knowing that decision-making is weakest while traveling, so they target us for urgent approvals of invoices, venue changes, and delays. Scammers can pose as conference staff and email us with fake venue changes at the last minute, demanding rescheduling costs. In the haste to respond, we often don't pay attention to the origin of the email, and end up sharing our business card details. This is where owners are trapped by urgency and hurry.
Scams about travel are being made possible by AI due to the fact that AI has greatly reduced the costs of producing "legitimate-looking" fraud on a mass scale. Travel scams no longer have to appear as broken English, poorly constructed websites, generic messages, etc. They can now appear as professional. Scams related to travel that I am seeing most frequently are fake booking/deal websites (that are frequently advertised via social media or online advertisements), impersonating airlines/hotels ("customer service" numbers, chatbots, or confirmation messages), and account takeover scams (specifically, loyalty programs and email accounts that are used to reset passwords).Travelers will receive an "urgent" message that includes the name of a trusted brand (in this case, the airline/hotel) along with a request to click on a link, call a phone number, or "verify" information (usually contact information) related to their reservation. When travelers ask the scammer questions, the scammer is able to respond very quickly and very credibly, which allows them to keep the traveler involved for a longer period of time. In many cases, deepfakes are not needed; however, if the scammer is able to script responses to questions that mimic how humans would speak, then it increases the likelihood that the scam will be successful. With AI helping to generate fake reviews, there are fewer barriers to making a nonexistent property or service appear legitimate.There are many safe habits that travelers can practice. First, do not book travel reservations through links in ads, direct messages, or unexpected emails. Instead, go directly to the airline or hotel's website by typing the web address into your browser, or use a reputable mobile app. Second, check the customer service telephone numbers provided to you in the original reservation versus those found in search engine results or via emails. Third, watch out for lookalike domains and slight misspellings. Fourth, always use a credit card to make travel purchases, set up two-factor authentication on your email and loyalty program accounts, and sign up for alerts when someone logs in to one of these accounts or redeems points. Finally, if something seems too good to be true, and/or there is a sense of urgency, then delay taking action until you can independently verify the legitimacy of the offer prior to clicking or paying for anything.
AI has really made travel scams more dangerous. For example, when it comes to short-term rentals, AI is making these fake listings look a lot more legit. Typically, short-term rental companies do a pretty good job of identifying these scams, but sometimes they can fall through the cracks because of advanced AI technology, so you always want to be sure that on any site you are using, you check really carefully to verify the legitimacy of listings. AI can make these scam listings look very real through realistic photos, good descriptions, and possibly even videos. Make sure you read reviews and check how recently a property joined the site, as that can help key you in on whether or not a scam is possible.