Free Vacation Scams
“Congratulations! You’ve won a free, 4-day vacation for two in the beautiful, sun-drenched Bahamas!”
When you get a flyer, email, or unexpected phone call promising a complimentary vacation, it’s likely a vacation scam. A current variation of the scam is an automated phone call explaining that you or somebody entered your name in a draw, and that you won. Of course, it’s always from a perky-sounding female voice! Don’t fall for any of it.
Do not, under any circumstances, give the company your credit card number or any other details. Many scammers simply collect your personal information and sell it to other marketing lists or, worse, to commit identity theft.
If there actually is a vacation behind this, there’s always a catch that will often mean paying much more than booking with your travel agent. For instance, to be eligible for the free vacation, you have to pay a large sum of money for a club charge or a membership – which might also be fraudulent.
Here’s what a lot of people may receive for their money:
- You will receive a travel pack, but there will be restrictions on when you can take your trip. Additional handling charges to book your reservation are typical.
- The travel dates you prefer will be unavailable. If you complain, you may be offered an upgraded plan at another additional fee.
- You have to pay extra for the flight home, or the return flight is canceled!
- You have to sit through lengthly time-share sales seminars, perhaps several times before you even leave on vacation, and also during your vacation. Doesn’t sound as fun as relaxing in the sun, does it?
- If you actually receive a vacation, you will most likely be booked into substandard accommodations where meals, taxes and other unexplainable “service charges” are extra.
Most people who join will never receive anything, and as the law closes in, scam operators close down and begin somewhere else, with a new address and phone number. You will be left without the vacation, and whatever charges you have so far paid will be lost.
September 25th, 2008 at 11:31 am
I just got one of these phone calls.
They told me they have a direct link to my Visa company, and already had my number there in front of them, but needed me to verify it by reading the number off my Visa to them. Universal Studios they said they were, with one in Daytona Beach and then the Bahamas. All at a discounted price. When I told them I wanted to talk to my husband they said they’d conference call him. I said no, she continued to repeat herself about how its all insured by Visa and said that my (already maxxed out) Visa was showing there that it was going to approve the amount of 500. I hung up on her perky self- I dont do perkyness that well anyways. Lol
September 25th, 2008 at 1:56 pm
Yes, being way too perky is a dead giveaway! I don’t even get a real person – just an incredibly, on-the-verge-of-laughing female recording saying “You won a fabulous vacation! Please press 9 to learn more!” As if.
January 15th, 2009 at 8:42 pm
I just got the same thing and when I told her i would not give her my expiry date she went on and on and on. alsot ehy called at 10:30 at night. She said for quality assurance the call is being recorded i said great seeing u are not listeing to me now, play it back later and hear me say several times no!!!I asked for a number that i could call her back at and she refused.
October 21st, 2009 at 12:00 pm
Scammers and fraudsters are the worst kind of criminal and should get the maximum penalty that a bank robber would receiver under the law. Perhaps they might try harder to get a real job then?
January 28th, 2010 at 8:07 pm
I also received a call this evening about the “free” vacation that was going to cost me $500.00 dollars! Call was same as above. First spoke to “Sean” who wanted my husband on the line with me, then he transfered me to their “confirmation” department and “Mya” took over witht the speal about VISA authorizing etc etc. However when I tried to politely explain that I couldn’t spare the $500.00 at this time due to my daughter’s upcoming wedding she continued to talk over me and refused to let me get a word in edgewise. Finally I hung up on them.
March 2nd, 2010 at 10:41 am
Hello everyone:
I kept this chick online for an hour and told her that I want to travel with her, but unfortunately my credit card expried a last month and I was going to call my accountant as he had all of my bills. It is the tax season…lol
I got their office number in Florida: Call them and complain: 386-868-5524
I also got the chicks personal cell number that will be available at a laer time. I need tohave some fun first. LOL
Sam Malone – Cheers
March 9th, 2010 at 1:43 pm
Just received a call from Universal Studios saying I had registered online for a free trip and won! Of course, it would only cost me $249.00 per person for the 7 day/6 night Orlando stay, 4 day/3 night Daytona Beach stay, a rental car with unlimited mileage and a dinner aboard the Sun Casino Dinner Cruise. When I asked “Gail” to get to the bottom line, she said she would just pass me through to their shipping department where “Nia” wanted to confirm my mailing address and promptly told me that my standing with VISA was excellent and that they were patched into the VISA credit. I think it was about then that I lost my patience with them. Told “Nia” that I would never register on line and give out any financial information, that I had repeatedly told them that not only was I skeptical about my “winning” this prize but, while on the phone, surfed the net and found out they were operating a scam. I hung up after telling her to send me out the package and then maybe I’d send them out some money. Ha! Not likely!
July 19th, 2010 at 6:29 pm
from BC Canada…I just got off the phone with someone claiming to be from Universal Studios..Same scam… 490 dollars from my already maxed Visa “no problem” and I could drive my free rental car (with free gas apparently too when I asked) all the way to Florida for some amazing free accommodations I just stayed on the line to see how long they would try me and acted really dumb… Insisting I needed to see the contract in writing…but I never gave them my expiry date ((I could hear them drooling the whole time) anyway 54 minutes!! and they could not provide me with any tangible contract other than their promises ..I hope they got scammed by some shrewd telemarketer on their long distance package!
Never pay for something you can`t examine at your leisure.
January 31st, 2011 at 9:54 am
I received a call on the evening of January 28th, 2011, past 9pm. The call was from United Vacations based in Florida associated with Disney vacations (from what I recall). The operators were beyond perky, and said they were affiliated with VISA and due to my good standing I won this vacation. I don’t remember the exact offer, but they went on and on and on about the countless different opportunities of vacations I am entitled to. They said it wasn’t a sales call, and they called me because I filled out a request for a Disney vacation somewhere online (they would not verify where, obviously because I never filled one out) and so they were simply returning my call. They had my full name, home address and the first two digits of my credit card and tried to scam their way into having me “confirm” my credit card number for only $199 upfront registration cost. Finally, when I absolutely refused to give my credit card information- her perky voice started to get defensive, and aggressive since she claimed she was only calling me back due to my request and I was being skeptical. Finally, I said if she thought I requested a vacation, then I’m oh so sorry I have now changed my mind- and hung up.
March 9th, 2011 at 10:47 am
I JUST hung up from being on the phone for like 20 minutes from the same perky girl that’s from United Vacations like Tasnuva. She said I won a Disney Vacation PLUS a trip to bahamas or cancun.She would not tell me the company website until AFTER I give her my credit card expiration date. The only reason why I stayed on the phone is because I have signed up for vacation contests but it’s through the actual disney site. Good thing I saw this, now I know I did the right thing by hanging up!
March 21st, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Yep, I got one of these calls and the thing that hooked me in is that they had all of my husband’s info and that he had entered. She even tried to three way call my husband for me to confirm all the package details. She went on and on about how great this was that we won. And then I got transfered to “shipping” and this person tried to confirm my credit card to pay for the one time registration fee! What! When I refused the woman on the phone got really beligerent and kept saying that credit card companies guard against fraud and this wasn’t the case anyway. The thing that really sucked about this is that not only do I feel like I almost got taken in (which I never do because I always hang up on telemarketers) but I felt really bad for my poor little 2 1/2 year old girl waiting for me to get off the phone to go outside and play.
April 18th, 2011 at 11:52 am
Exact same as Tasnuva above happened to me 3 times now…the perky lady gets defensive insisting I contacted her and when I refuse to give her my credit card # and a few other choice words for her she hangs up on ME!! The phone # is 1-877-882-9029
August 4th, 2011 at 5:03 am
I just received a call from Kelly from Destiny Magic Vacations in Orlando Florida, telling me I had won a free 15day cruise to the Carribean for 4 people. She asked if I had a Visa or Mastercard and then asked me to clarify the numbers and expiry date on them. I already knew this was a scam by this stage and when I said that I was not comfortable in giving out my card details over the phone, she transfered me to her supervisor Sean. When I said that I was surprised that they had this home number as I do not own the house and have only recenlty moved to Scotland I was hung up on. Just wanted to leave these comments as the scam it seems is not just within the US but is in the UK also.
Be careful if it seems to good to be true, it is!