We’d all love to win a free vacation to a sunny paradise.

  • How to avoid vacation scams
  • Beware of robocalls, emails and faxes offering promotional vacation packages
  • Go directly to a legitimate company’s website

TJ Breslin, who was visiting Florida from New York with his family, says it’s especially enticing for folks who live up north.

“Oh yeah, a lot of people, (say) ‘Oh wow, honey, we can take the kids free and don’t have to do nothing,’ and next thing you know, you get a bill for $5,000 on your credit card,” said Breslin, while building sand castles on the beach with his kids.

He’s right about those unsolicited offers.  They’re almost always a rip-off.

“Nothing is free, nothing is free,” said Breslin.  “There’s always gonna be a catch.”

Just ask Stephanie Ault, visiting Florida from New Hampshire. She got scammed booking a trip to the Bahamas.

“It really took me a lot to get it canceled ‘cause when you call the 800 number, there was nobody there," she said. "So I had to go to my bank and say, ‘This is a scam, and I can’t get my money back, and they kept taking money out of my account.' "

With a lot of time and effort, Ault finally got her money back, but not everyone is so lucky. The State of Florida is warning consumers about a sharp increase in these travel scams.

WARNINGS

Your best defense as a consumer is to beware of robocalls, emails and faxes offering promotional vacation packages, even those that claim they’re from legitimate travel agencies, like Expedia, Travelocity and TripAdvisor.

Scammers will spoof the logo of a legitimate company and try to fool you into thinking you’re dealing with them. These companies are very much aware of these scammers trying to play off their name recognition and have information on their websites about how to protect yourself.

  • Click here for Expedia Customer Service Scam Alert
  • Click here for Travelocity Customer Service Scam Alert

TIPS TO PROTECT YOURSELF

  •  Never click through emails or answer calls to unsolicited offers
  •  Go directly to a legitimate company’s website
  •  Contact customer service to confirm offers
  •  Never give your credit card number out online or over the phone unless you initiate the contact.

It’s also always a good idea to check out whether a company is registered with the state and whether it has any complaints filed against it.

Click here to check whether a company is registered with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and whether it has any complaints against it.  Click here to file a complaint.

DON'T FALL FOR IT

The one tried and true rule to always remember:  if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.