It is early June and many of us are thinking about taking our summer vacations that we look forward to all year, however, scammers are also taking advantage of our vacation interest to scam us and the companies we work for.

One new scam involves your getting an email that appears to come from your employer’s HR Department luring you to click on a link to submit your request for vacation time.  Clicking on the link can either cause you to download dangerous malware that can lead to your becoming a victim of identity theft or luring you into providing your online credentials at work in order to get access to your company’s computers and data.

Another vacation related scam involves vacation apps.  Many of us use vacation related apps and also receive emails and text messages from hotels, airlines and other travel related services so it is not surprising that scammers pose as these companies to lure you into clicking on malware infected links or provide credit card or debit card information.

In yet another vacation related scam, people applying for passports and visas are finding that these governmental services are delayed and scammers have stepped in to contact you posing as governmental agencies offering expedited passports and visas tricking you into providing them with your credit card or debit card information.

TIPS

Never click on a link or provide personal information in response to an email or text message unless you have confirmed that the communication is legitimate.  Scammers can use email addresses that may appear to be legitimate and it is easy for a scammer to make a text message appear as if it is coming from a trusted phone.  If you get a communication that appears to come from your HR department, contact them directly through an email or phone number that you know is legitimate.

The same precautions apply to any emails or text messages that you may get that appear to come from a company or a travel app that you may be using.  Never provide personal information or click on links unless you have confirmed that the communication is legitimate and never use your debit card for anything other than an ATM card because the protection you get in regard to fraudulent use of your debit card is not as good as the protection you get when your credit card is compromised.

Finally, in regard to passports and visas, use this link to get information you can rely on in regard to expediting a passport or visa application.  https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html

If you are not a subscriber to Scamicide.com and would like to receive  free daily emails with the Scam of the day, all you need to do is sign up for free using this link. https://scamicide.com/scam-of-the-day/