If a deal feels too good to be true, it probably is — but that doesn't mean you're the problem.

Travel scams are getting more sophisticated — fake booking sites, phishing texts posing as your airline, phony "too good to be true" vacation rental listings, and scammers who now use AI to clone voices and mimic real travel agencies.

In this episode, Jennifer, Mallory, and Kim break down the most common travel scams they're seeing right now, the red flags to watch for before you book, and — most importantly — exactly what to do if you think you've already been scammed: who to contact first, how to try to recover your money, and how to protect yourself going forward. Plus, why booking through a real travel advisor is one of the best safeguards you have.

It's a practical, no-judgment conversation for anyone who's ever second-guessed a "deal" online — because it can happen to the savviest traveler, too.

All three of us have almost gotten scammed. Today we're telling those stories — including one that was unfolding as we recorded this episode

All three of us have almost gotten scammed — and honestly, none of us are careless people. This week, we're getting real about it: our own near-misses, a hiking destination in Peru that ChatGPT completely made up (two tourists paid $160 to be dropped at a random rural road chasing it), and a phone "ransom" scam happening in Paris that came to us fresh, mid-recording, from someone in our own network.

We also break down just how big this problem has actually gotten — travel fraud losses hit a record $16 billion in 2025 — and why AI is quietly making fake sites and scam messages harder to catch than ever.

This isn't a lecture. It's the stuff nobody tells you until it almost happens to you.

Part 2 next week: what to actually do about all of it, including exactly what to do if you've already been scammed.

🧳 New episodes every week — subscribe so you don't miss Part 2.
✈️ Want a trip planned by people who already know what to watch for? Links to book with each of us are in the description.

#TravelPodcast #TravelScams #TravelSafety #TravelTips #TravelAgent

EPCOT is basically two parks in one, so we split the conversation the same way the park splits itself — the longest lines, whether they're actually worth the wait, and how to beat them, plus every free air-conditioned hideout in the park (yes, even the one most people don't know about). Then we cross into World Showcase for Kidcot and the passport program, before special guest Ryan Joy joins us for a rapid-fire "best of" round: best restaurant, best drink, best snack, best festival, best show. If you've ever left EPCOT overwhelmed, this is the episode that fixes that.