Read our guide to holiday rental scams affecting apartment and villa owners
It’s no secret that the vacation rental sector has been a repeated target of Internet scammers, or that it continues to attract both online and offline fraudsters, looking to exploit property owners and holidaymakers alike. Worryingly the criminals are becoming more audacious, as seen in the recent Moiraway Villa rental scam, which saw a fake website and a number of property listings set up and subsequently take money from hundreds of families for holiday homes that never existed.
Holiday property fraud is a real danger, but it’s also something that can be easily avoided. Here at Travel Eden we’re committed to new, industry-wide standards which will create the safest possible online environment, with the widest selection of genuine holiday rentals. We’re working with other property agencies across Europe to blacklist known scammers, before they have a chance to cheat more families, and the good news is that we’re winning.
Our extensive database of known fraudsters has already located and blocked more than 31702 potentially criminal email and IP addresses, which we have passed onto our partners in this campaign. The early warning systems we employ are constantly monitoring suspicious activity and alerting us to potential holiday rental accommodation scams, but we urge everybody to remain vigilant.
Travel Eden is determined to defeat the scammers. The strict security verification process we employ with all our properties makes us one of the safest online property portals around, and we’re continually updating procedures, to ensure we stay ahead of the latest illegal activity.
If you have any reason to be suspicious about a booking, or a holiday rental property you’ve seen online, the first thing to do is contact us. We may be able to confirm validity for you on the spot, but if not we’ll launch an immediate investigation and share our findings with you.
Our advice, as always, is to be cautious. Using reputable websites – like Travel Eden – is a good start. Every vacation property on this site is subjected to a rigorous authentication procedure and we maintain personal contact with all the owners we work with.
For more information, take a moment to review the Travel Eden Holidaymaker Charter as well as our guide to Holiday rental scams.