Avoid vacation rentals scams on Craigslist, verify seller credentials and pay safe

Recently many scams involving fake sellers duping unsuspecting buyers of vacation rental for international holiday destinations have some to our notice. We hereby caution buyers to properly verify seller credentials and then strike a deal. A case was recently unearthed in Craigslist Dallas where a scammer posing as a travel consultant of a popular travel agency offered tour packages to India at half the cost offered by cheapest agents. He claimed to provide bed and breakfast type rental from private households in India.
We have compiled a quick guide that will help you identify scammers on craigslist selling travel deals and tour packages.
Please make sure you follow these when trading on Craigslist.

1. Verify the cost of the tour (product) or room rent from competitors. Get other quotes elsewhere. Because if something sounds unbelievable it probably is.
2. Ask for a phone number and talk to them. Verify their domain expertise by asking question about the destination you are visiting.
3. Ask for references from past clients who have used that property or bought their travel deal. Ask from reference and reviews from clients from your country else they could be fake like their craigslist advert.
4. Do not make the full payment in advance. Always prefer a part payment and pay the rest on arrival.
5. Do not direct payments via western union or Paypal. Prefer a safer alternative like Pay on Delivery. They ensure have a much higher degree of fraud protection by ensuring the buyer gets some sort of delivery before the seller get his payment.
6. Use a major credit card that has better charge back features.

Travel safe and buy smart on Craigslist.
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