- Buyers of cheap travel deals often face canceled reservations and lost money
- Fraudulent travel bookings can appear legitimate until banks unexpectedly freeze accounts
- Cardholders discover unauthorized charges after multiple bookings have already been completed
Holiday discounts can look tempting, especially when flights and hotels feel overpriced in peak season – but experts have warned that some of the cheapest deals circulating online are linked to criminal networks running so-called buy-for-you schemes.
These operations rely on stolen credit card data to secure real reservations, which are later resold at steep discounts to unsuspecting buyers.
Investigations by security firms including Saily and NordVPN looked into underground forums and private messaging channels where these services are promoted.
How the purchase for your travel scam actually works
The findings describe a structured marketplace where sellers advertise flights, hotel stays and car rentals at prices that are often 40% to 60% below retail prices.
Transactions often move from public social media to encrypted chat groups where payments are requested via crypto or cash transfer apps.
For buyers, the risks are immediate and practical. A booking made with stolen card details can be canceled without notice once the fraud is detected.
Airlines or hotels may flag the booking, freeze the account or require identity verification, and in some cases buyers report losing both the trip and the money paid to the intermediary.
Escrow services are sometimes offered to create a sense of security, yet researchers note that some sellers bypass these safeguards and disappear after collecting funds.
Cardholders whose data is stolen face a different set of problems. Fraud often begins with small test purchases before escalating to expensive travel bookings.
“If your credit card information is included in a data breach, it can be used to buy a vacation for someone else,” says Vykintas Maknickas, CEO of Saily.
Because valuable travel transactions can look like normal spending, fraudulent charges may not trigger immediate alerts.
Unfortunately, many users only notice the scam when unusual charges appear on their bank statements, by which time multiple bookings may already have been completed.
Banks then freeze accounts during investigations, which can disrupt routine payments and create financial stress.
Security specialists advise monitoring bank statements regularly and enabling real-time transaction alerts.
Strong passwords and two-factor authentication add another layer of defense, while limiting where payment information is stored reduces exposure in the event of a data breach.
Up-to-date firewall software and endpoint protection can also reduce the risk of malware that captures card information.
Wider use of AI tools by financial institutions may help detect suspicious patterns earlier, although this is not guaranteed.
The lure of steep discounts continues to attract interest, especially when deals are framed as insider deals with limited availability.
However, any arrangement that requires payment outside of established booking platforms should raise concerns, especially when communications shift to private messaging apps.
The promise of a cheap holiday can quickly backfire, so that both travelers and cardholders face consequences that far outweigh the initial savings.
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