Avoiding Internet Scams on Sanibel Vacation Rentals

As vacation rentals become more and more known and the value more and more pronounced, vacationers are opting to try this way of travel. The numbers for the industry, both of rental guests and monies spent, is very impressive.


Unfortunately, where there is that much money and that many people, there is also lots of opportunity for thieves to take people's hard earned revenues and stuff them into their own pockets.


The vacation rental scam goes like this: A rental guest sees what looks like a great deal, a condo, cottage or house renting for significantly less than all the others in the same area. They think the place looks great and they contact the "owner". The owner requires payment by check in most instances and the guests are happy to oblige sending the check most often to a Post Office box. Once they arrive, however, the guests find that no such property exists or that the property does indeed exist but is occupied....it was rented out by the real owner. Of course, it is nearly impossible in this kind of scenario to locate the scammer and the guests are not just out of their money, they are probably out of their vacation as well.


If the guests have paid with a credit card (yes, some scammers are so sophisticated they take credit cards and even post videos about their vacation rentals on the internet!), they may have a chance of retrieving their money. But the loss of a vacation is not easy to take.


Now you may be wondering why a vacation rental agency is writing about this subject.


We represent owners and take every precaution on behalf of owners to assure that the guest is reputable and their money is good. We cater to rental guests and make every effort to insure that they are getting what they want.


But any scam that effects our industry does have some effect on us despite the position of being reps for owners and interface for guests. So we do want to offer some words of advice to our owners, our guests and our readers of this blog.


We don't think anyone should take anything for granted. Do your research. Dig for details. Search out others who have stayed at the property you are interested in. Pay with a credit card, not cash, and only after you have done due diligence to authentic the owner, listing, management company.


And remember the unwritten law that can apply to almost any purchase.


If it looks too good to be true, it probably is!