Durban - It's no secret that thousands of people make their holiday plans late, and hunt for last-minute Christmas and New Year accommodation.
This year, because of the tough economic climate, there is more accommodation than usual still available online.
Gumtree SA’s general manager- director Claire Cobbledick said that while there were good deals and the online space was getting more secure every year, holidaymakers needed to exercise caution to avoid fraud.
“Some people forget common sense when they’re under pressure to find somewhere to stay,” she said.
Cobbledick said the most common scam was to rent a property the advertiser did not own, or to rent to several people at the same time. She suggested asking for reference letters of previous guests.
“Not only can you confirm the legitimacy of the site and the quality of the accommodation, you can also get some tips about the place and the neighbourhood.”
She also warned that contact details were an important signal: “Warning signs included someone who was evasive about providing direct contacts; bad spelling; a foreign phone number; an email address which featured a description of the property (eg hermanus8sleeper@gmail.com), a trick scammers use to keep track of venues.”