How To Avoid Scam When Searching For A Golf Package In Algarve

What if you exhausted most of your year’s savings in booking a villa in Algarve and when you reached there, you find out that the villa just does not exist there. This, obviously, does not feel good and you may feel like pulling your hair. In such cases, fraudulent address and pictures of a place are posted online and the money is diverted to the hackers.

Such people just commit you a golf course of a villa for discounted prices and never fulfill their contracts. Many people are involved at various levels in such scams. This problem is not only confined to Portugal; you must be careful about online dealings whenever you are making prior payments to an unknown country. You can use these tips to beware of such scams:

Check the website

You must check if the website looks legitimate. It must have convincing contact details, registration number, testimonials, etc. You can Google the name of the website followed by words like scam, complaint, etc. You can also search the name of the owner of the place to be extra sure.

Insurance against scam

Take the services of a company, which offers insurance against scams and bogus advertisers, such as Owners Direct. The company also provides secure messaging service called Security Centre.

Question the agency

You can ask questions from the letting agencies, which host properties for the advertisers about the steps they take to determine the authenticity of property and owner being advertised.

Excessive discount

If you find excessive discounts on a website that puts you in doubt, avoid making payments on any such website.

Foreign account

If the website asks you to send the money upfront to a foreign bank account, you have to be extra cautious. If you are asked to send money by telegraphic transfer or Western Union, you must be suspicious.

Take consumer protection

For enhanced consumer protection, you can make bookings with the members of ATOL or ABTA. If you are doubtful about anything, you must get in touch with the owner and ask for details such as landline phone number, utility bills, and the AL registration number.

UK credit card

If you live in UK, you can pay using the national credit card to have to protection under Consumer Credit Act 1974 (section 75). PayPal is reliable and convenient option for payment, but since the holidays are regarded as intangible, PayPal Buyer Protection does not cover it for protection.