According to the American Hotel Lodging Association, 15 million Americans have reported falling for a fake site when booking a hotel reservation.
Based on the research, the AHLA estimates, hotel booking scams have cost Americans $1.3 billion.
The phony websites can be very convincing-- they are often dead ringers for the large national hotel chains they claim to be.
Financial Advisor Jim Dew says the first thing you should check is the URL. The top corner should read "https:". If there is no "s," it's not a secure site.
However keep in mind, the "s" might not show up right away, for example, they it might not show up on the homepage.
However, as soon as you go to book, you should see it.
If you are unsure, you should call the hotel. Ask about restaurant and shopping in the area.
Dew says many scammers set up fake call centers.
"So call and asking for specifics around the hotel. If it's a fake call center to scam you, they're not gonna know. They're gonna hang up," he said.
Watch out for grammatical and spelling mistakes. They are clues to a fake site.
Finally, always use your credit card, not a debit card.
"Sometimes the scams will specifically say this rate is only good with debit card. That's a big red flag, because no hotel does that," said Dew.