Attorney General Moody warns of spring break scams

SARASOTA, Fla. (WWSB) - It’s almost spring break time in the Suncoast. College students and families will flock to the beautiful beaches in the region. Not everyone is looking out for your benefit.

As part of National Consumer Protection Week, Attorney General Ashley Moody is releasing a new Scams at a Glance resource to help Floridians spot and avoid travel scams.

During the spring break season, many Floridians and tourists will be traveling. Florida is a hot destination where more than 130 million tourists visited in 2022. Unfortunately, scammers know this and may try to exploit consumers, casting a wide net to try and trap unwary travelers.

Attorney General Moody is releasing Scams at a Glance: Travel Traps to help consumers avoid falling for fraudsters’ tricks during this busy travel season and beyond. It’s a free download and has useful advice such as:

Vacation-Rental Fraud: Fake postings offering vacation-rental properties created by scammers who take the victim’s money, leaving the traveler without accommodations;
Taxi or Ride-Sharing Scams: Unlicensed or unmetered drivers that operate out of airports or major tourist destinations, charging undisclosed or flat-rate fees that are more expensive than real-metered fares;
Fake-Ticket Scams: Scammers create fake websites, ads or physical tickets to trick visitors into buying worthless entrance passes;
Vehicle-Rental Scams: Damaged sports-rental equipment or vehicles such as jet skis, scooters and boats are rented to tourists and the owner claims the renter damaged the vehicle; and
Credit-Card Skimming: The illegal copying of the magnetic strip of a credit or ATM card—often occurring when a credit card is taken out of sight, or by placing illicit skimming machines on card readers or terminals.

To download Scams at a Glance: Travel Traps, click here. Consumers can report spring break travel scams to Attorney General Moody’s office by calling 1(866) 9NO-SCAM or visiting MyFloridaLegal.com. The Florida Attorney General’s Office created Scams at a Glance as an online outreach program detailing information about common and emerging scams. The webpage provides downloadable brochures designed to help Floridians avoid falling victim to fraud. For more information on the Scams at a Glance program, visit MyFloridaLegal.com/ScamsAtAGlance.