what to watch out for – Corriere.it

Almost a million Italians in the last year have fallen victim to scams or frauds in the last year, amid bogus advertisements, non-existent houses and rooms or ones already assigned to other guests. According to a survey carried out by the research institute Emg Different on behalf of Facile.it, they all emerge the risks that a traveler may face when booking their holidays. In most cases this also represents economic damage which – according to the analysis – has an average value of 314 euros for an overall estimate of 100 million euros.

The scammed people

The most typical scam is the ghost house, which about 518,000 tourists stumbled upon: about 330,000 became aware of the attempt before departure, while 133,000 discovered it only after paying and another 55,000 once they arrived at the holiday resort . To many, about 276 thousand people, who also happened to find themselves in front of structures or accommodations that did not adhere to the images published in the advertisement. As many as 125,000 travelers found their booked apartment or room already occupied by someone else. In these cases, 27% of the scammed people left without paying and the same percentage demanded a change of accommodation. 23% received a discount on the price, but 21% did not receive any financial assistance or alternative accommodation in return, despite the clashes with the property. The percentage of tourists who have had to resort to legal proceedings is expected to be 11%.

The typical channels of the scam

As anticipated, the money lost was on average 314 euros and in 28% of cases it was never recovered. Almost two out of three Italians (65%), despite the attempt or the real scam, have decided not to report. According to the survey by Emg and Facile.it, this eventuality does not only concern holiday homes, which are subject to fraud in 36%, but also B&Bs (35%), hotels (21%) and holidays (11%). If we take a look at the channels used to commit a scam, in 47% of cases the victim was solicited online, while for 21% of tourists, the ad was viewed on social networks. About 170,000 people found the advertisement on a real estate portal or, more generally, on classifieds sites. Then there are 50,000 citizens who have “fallen into a trap” because of a cartel for rent. There remains 11% who have been scammed despite the booking being made through a travel or real estate agency.