While it’s always important to be aware of your surroundings as a tourist, travel scams also target business travellers. In fact, thanks to high-limit corporate credit cards and mass bookings, business travellers are quite the lucrative target for scammers.

From international credit card fraud to flight scams, the key to avoiding these issues is learning how to recognise them. We’ve founded up the latest travel safety advice to help you spot red flags, in the office and overseas.

How many people are affected by travel scams?

As criminals become increasingly sophisticated with online fraud, particularly with the use of AI in phishing scams, SMEs are frequent targets. In fact, a UK Finance study found that SMEs within the UK alone lost £59.2 million to fraud in 2021, up 35% from 2020. The survey also found that 80% of SMEs have received unsolicited requests for personal details and money.

Travel scams are also more common than you might think, especially when booking corporate travel online. According to a McAfee Corp study, 30% of adults surveyed reported either fallen victim themselves or knowing someone who had fallen victim to an online travel scam. The same research found that 14% made payments through fraudulent platforms, and 18% experienced identity fraud.

How do travel scams work on business travellers?

Scamming tricks run from simple to sophisticated. Business travellers might be caught out by phishing emails or fraudulent booking websites. A common trick is to make a spoof website that looks like a trusted platform, but with tiny changes to the URL.

Digital fraudsters are also skilled at creating invoices that look like they come from legitimate suppliers, including a recognisable company logo and registered office.

Some criminals may mimic a business travel agency representative, phoning your team to request payment details for an upcoming trip. However, your company’s travel policy should clearly outline the rules and budgets for business travel, including approved websites and platforms. By sticking to approved, trusted platforms like Booking.com for Business, you’ll be able to avoid these common phishing scams.

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What are the most common business travel scams?

Here are a few tried-and-true tourist scams you may encounter as a business traveller, both online and off.

Flight scams

Apart from phishing emails requesting payment for international flights, a common type of flight scam preys on those booking last-minute travel. In this case, selling plane tickets to business travellers that have been purchased with stolen credit cards. When you arrive at the airport, you’ll then find out the booking has been cancelled.

How to avoid: Only purchase airline tickets through legitimate, trusted sites, either directly from the airline or a reputable platform like Booking.com for Business.

Fake booking websites

The internet is littered with fake websites designed to mimic legitimate hotel chains, travel agencies, and booking aggregators. They’ll look nearly identical to the authentic article, with only a small change to the URL. For example, the domain may be different, such as .net or .co rather than .com.

How to avoid: Always verify the URL, ensuring it’s secure with a padlock icon and HTTPS (not just HTTP). Read reviews online from third-party platforms like Google before booking.

Fake travel agencies

When business travel agencies go bankrupt, fraudsters rush in and target their roster of corporate clients. The fraudsters will send out phishing emails requesting sensitive booking details and passwords. They may also call or text business travellers offering refunds for upcoming travel, if only you send your company’s bank information first and confirm associated account passwords.

How to avoid: Verify email addresses for inconsistencies, never open unsolicited links or attachments, and be wary of emails filled with grammatical errors. Always use dedicated business travel platforms such as Booking.com for Business with verified credentials and report any suspicious communications to your company’s IT department for follow-up.

Visa and passport scams

As with fraudulent booking websites, some digital scammers target business travellers with sites claiming to issue official travel documents. These will spoof official government sources.

How to avoid: Visas and relevant travel documents will usually be arranged by your company’s corporate travel planning team, who will have the correct contact information. If you need to renew your own passport, look at the URL carefully to make sure you’re on a valid government website. You can also contact your embassy or visit the passport office in person to receive your documents.

International credit card fraud

According to recent surveys, one in six business travellers has fallen for credit card scams. International credit card fraud is rife, with card details exposed through non-secure hotels, restaurants, and other venues where you’re likely to use a corporate card.

How to avoid: Ask if your company provides single-use virtual cards. These are valid for a single reservation, preventing fraudulent use. Another option is to use secure payment apps and digital wallets that come with built-in digital security features. With international bank accounts through HSBC, Wise, or Revolut, your company can securely transfer money in the correct currency directly to a company travel card for business expenses.

Business hotel scams

If you’re offered a deal on a hotel room that seems too good to be true, it probably is. These types of scams targeting business travellers will request payment in advance for a block booking, only for you and your team to turn up and find out the listing doesn’t exist. Other hotel scams involve double booking a legitimate listing.

How to avoid: Only use trusted platforms like Booking.com for Business, and make sure that these offer some form of traveller protection. Be wary of listings without any reviews.

Business taxi scams

While unscrupulous taxi drivers will still take business travellers where they need to go, they’ll overcharge for your journey. Common signs of a taxi scam include lack of a meter, or a meter that seems to unpredictably jump in price.

How to avoid: Pre-book your company taxi through a reputable company and always ask for a receipt. If you can’t pre-book, look for taxi stands with official signage and check that the meter is working before you depart.

Where do I report travel scams?

Don’t let scammers go unchecked. First, check your company’s travel policy to find out who to contact for help, whether it’s a dedicated travel coordinator or even the business owner.

Travel scams should also be reported to the police, and many countries have task forces specifically dedicated to tackling travel fraud.

For example:

  • In the UK, businesses should contact Action Fraud
  • In the US, businesses should contact the FTC

Your company travel representative should be able to help with determining the best course of action and assist with filing all relevant reports.

Where should I go if I get scammed during a business trip?

Falling for scams is never a nice feeling, but it happens to even the savviest business traveller. Make sure you report it to your travel coordinator and the proper authorities as quickly as possible to protect your company’s financial information.

Step 1: Check your travel policy

If you don’t have a team leader or travel coordinator accompanying you on the trip, check your travel policy to find emergency contact details. Let the company know what’s happened first.

Step 2: Go to the police

Even for petty crime like a rip-off taxi scam, it’s worth filing a report with the local authorities to have it on record. This can often be done online. If you’re staying a business hotel, the concierge can help you file a report and speak to relevant local authorities.

Step 3: Talk to your company’s finance team

If you’ve fallen for international credit card fraud or you suspect your company cards have been compromised online, get in touch with your company’s finance team. They can then contact the bank that holds the corporate account. Banks can also put additional security on your account to prevent unauthorised or suspicious transactions.

Do banks refund scammed money to businesses?

In most cases, banks will refund scammed money. However, this depends on the country your business is based in and its regulations. For example, in the UK the Payment Service Regulations 2009 require that banks refund money that has been taken, provided the transaction was unauthorised.

If you’ve paid the scammer directly and willingly with a corporate credit card, this makes getting a refund a little trickier. It will depend on the payment type, amount, and the bank’s own policies.

What are the red flags of a travel scammer?

Many of the tourist scam red flags also apply to business travel scams. Proceed with caution if you experience any of the following situations:

  • You’re pressured to make a quick booking decision
  • You receive an unsolicited phone call or email from a corporate travel agency
  • You’re not given any specific details about the travel offer
  • You’re asked for an unprotected form of payment such as a wire transfer or cryptocurrency
  • You’re sent a business email with spelling and grammatical errors
  • Premium properties at deceptively low prices are signs of a hotel scam

Overall, if something seems too good to be true, it probably is.

How to avoid being scammed while travelling for business

Avoiding scams starts before you go by only using company-approved booking platforms. Scam prevention also involves keeping the usual business cyber security tips in mind:

  1. Regularly update passwords on all company accounts, including booking platforms and loyalty programmes
  2. Ensure all travel websites you visit use HTTPS protocols and encryption
  3. Sign up for two-factor authentication on all company devices and accounts
  4. Use virtual payment methods or those with tokenisation, replacing card numbers with randomly generated tokens

Stay aware of phishing attempts with fake emails designed to impersonate reputable business travel agencies – check and double-check those details. While antivirus products and fraud detection software catch many of these, some fall through the cracks.

Here are a few more points of business travel safety advice:

Only use approved company credit cards

Credit card scams are on the rise, so it’s important to stick to approved company travel cards rather than using your personal credit card for expenses. Corporate credit cards come with industry-standard security including real-time transaction alerts, helping finance teams stay on top of red-flag card activity while you’re travelling.

Use secure payment apps

Payment apps come with advanced encryption and AI-assisted fraud detection to keep financial data safe when paying for flights and hotels. Consider using digital wallets like Apple Pay to store company credit cards and boarding passes in a secure, virtual space where scammers won’t be able to access them.

Pay for bookings with single-use virtual cards

An even better way to protect company card numbers from phishing attempts is to keep them restricted to a single, virtual use. Business travellers can use this virtual card for their trip, and once the approved travel ends, so does the card.

Companies can even restrict purchases to certain spend types and merchant categories. That means fraudsters won’t have the chance to use the company payment information for anything other than approved expenses.

Don’t log into sensitive company accounts in public areas

Travelling for business means you’ll sometimes need to log into your company devices from a public area. Follow all usual business travel safety advice, including those pertaining to online security. If you’re conducting business in public airport lounges or hotel lobbies, always use a private network rather than public Wi-Fi. For added safety, use a screen protector to shield your data from nearby lurkers.

Access employee support before and during your trip

Company travel planners make it their business to assess risk. If your company has a dedicated travel arranger, ask about common tourist scams at the destination so you can be prepared. Remember that businesses carry responsibility for travelling employees, so don’t be afraid to ask for support when you need it. Before embarking on your journey, browse your company’s travel policy first. This should clearly list:

  1. Emergency contacts
  2. Safety measures
  3. Business travel insurance policies
  4. Details about approved secure payment methods

Keep a digital copy of this handy so you can access it for assistance on the road.

Centralise your business travel bookings

One of the primary ways to avoid travel scams is by using a trusted, reputable booking platform. Booking.com for Business is an all-in-one business travel tool that lets you manage business travel hotels, flights, and corporate car rental.

Using multiple agents and websites for booking business travel increases your chances of fraudulent bookings. By centralising this planning in a single system for easier monitoring, you can better manage each aspect of business travel – and stay safe from scammers.

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