Computer scammers do not rest even on vacation. And it is that in Easter the frauds in the announcements of vacation rentals multiply. Cybercriminals make use of websites specialized in renting residences or apartments to publish offers that are deceptive.
You have to be wary of poorly written messages and avoid, as much as possible, the payment method in advance and outside of the official platforms.
The first thing a victim of a scam has to do is gather all the information available on the transaction, as well as the email address or telephone number used by the alleged fraudster. “In order to resolve cases satisfactorily, it is necessary to know the perpetrator, although it is not always easy since they are usually individuals or mafias that have increasingly sophisticated means,” Leticia Grande, lawyer and spokesperson for Reclamador, tells us. is.
With all the elements that have been collected, “it must be reported as soon as possible to the Police or the Civil Guard, since both bodies have groups specialized in computer crimes,” advises Grande.
If the police have sufficient evidence, they will forward it to the Public Ministry to request the initiation of criminal proceedings ex officio. The crime of fraud generates two types of liability, criminal and civil, “criminal entails imprisonment from six months to three years. In cases where the scam does not exceed 440 euros, the penalty will be a jail fine of one to three months. Civil liability includes the restitution of defrauded money, interest and possible compensation for proven damages, â€explains the lawyer.
To protect yourself, among the recommendations that experts make is to be wary of excessively low prices and bargains, which can be indicators of scams. It is also recommended to carry out bank transfers that leave a trace, in addition to asking the alleged landlord for a copy of the DNI scanned on both sides.
It is convenient to formalize the vacation rental contract in writing, as well as make all communications and payments through the official platform, since they have multiple protection systems. “We must be sure that we are on the official website of the platform because its security is greater than if we make a reservation with an individual through the telephone number or email address provided by him. We must not neglect safety. Looking at the URL will help us to know. A sign of security is that it begins with https, where “s” means that we are in a safe place and the operations we do on that page will be encrypted,” they warn reclamador.es.
If it appears that the contact is an email poorly translated from English or another language, or indicates that the person is abroad, it should not be trusted. Typical scam email addresses contain random capital letters, multiple numbers, trailing slashes, and the use of the letter X. Very recent profiles without user reviews are also unreliable.
Finally, it is very important not to download files, or click on links that take us to other pages. You should not leave the official page, nor make payments through bank transfers, checks or external payment applications. “It is advisable to try to avoid, as far as possible, advance payments, especially for the entire reservation,” concludes Grande.
