Watch out: Crooks target cruisers as summer season kicks in

The cruise season is officially here — and scammers are looking to exploit careless tourists this summer.

If you are preparing to go on a cruise at some point this or next summer, you should be aware of the new tactics scammers use to try and ruin your holiday.

Scammers are more frequently targeting travelers booking trips to popular destinations like the US, the UK, and the Bahamas, so three major cruise lines, Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Norwegian, issued a travel alert to warn passengers against fraudulent schemes.

In general, crooks use a variety of schemes. For example, they prey upon Internet users looking to book hotels, flights, or cruises with seemingly legitimate booking websites promising lucrative deals that are just too good to be true.

Additionally, scammers target travelers who are trying to contact a cruise line, hotel, or airline about their existing reservation. They use malvertising — a malicious ad inserted in Google Search results. When the person uses it to contact the provider, their call is redirected to someone posing as a cruise line representative, offering them a fraudulent — yet nicely sounding — deal.

One Carnival Cruise Line guest shared on Reddit how she almost fell for this scam when attempting to resolve a routine check-in issue. She tried to reach Carnival, but instead phoned a fake customer support number surfaced through a Google search.

The cyberiminal offered her a $1000 discount if she rebooked on the spot as part of “a promotion.” Suspicious, the guest hung up and contacted Carnival directly, who confirmed it was a scam and locked her account to prevent malicious activity.

Royal Caribbean and Norwegian Cruise Line passengers have reported similar incidents. Scammers tend to present as cruise line agents, give time-sensitive offers, or ask for re-confirmation of personal details and payments.

Cruise lines are urging travelers to verify contact details, avoid third-party sources, and remain alert while planning their trips. When searching for contact numbers, make sure to go to the company’s website and get it from there rather than clicking on the first Google search result.

Google’s Trust & Safety teams warned in the advisory about a surge in travel scams amid the start of the summer vacation season.

“Fake travel websites lure users into booking travel with a promise of ‘too good to be true’ prices, experiences, or discounts. These deceptive sites often imitate well-known hotels or pose as legitimate travel agencies, a tactic particularly prevalent during holidays and major events when people book travel via messaging apps or phone,” the advisory explained.