19/02/2024
HOW TO BOOK DIRECT AND STAY SAFE
The Mexico Beach Vacation Rentals by Owner group is a great place to book directly with owners and save on the service fees that third-party booking sites charge. We vet every membership request to try and keep scammers out of our group. Most likely, you are a member of several groups while you search for the perfect vacation rental, and some of these groups do have scammers.
Scammers create fake Facebook accounts by stealing other people’s photos and copying their posts. They join private vacation rental groups and stay in the background, waiting for guests to post, and they especially love to prey on travelers desperately looking for a last-minute bargain.
But fear not! You CAN book direct and stay safe. No matter where you look for a rental, it’s important to do your own homework. Here are some tips to help you confirm that you are dealing with a legitimate owner:
• Do not respond to private messages. FB Messenger is where most scams happen. The scammer may be watching the group with one fake profile, then message you with a different profile that’s not even a member of the group. This is how they hide from group admins.
• Be especially careful in public groups – the scammers don’t even have to join a public group to see the posts, watch guests looking for rentals, and then PM them.
• Only contact owners through the link they provide. In Mexico Beach Vacation Rentals by Owner, we require all owners to comment publicly with a link to their listing, and all listings (whether it’s a website, VRBO listing, or business page) should have a way for guests to contact the owner. Don’t respond to comments that just invite you to “PM me” without including a link.
• If the “owner” tries to send you photos of their property through messenger with excuses as to why they don’t have a link, then run away!
• Never give out your contact information publicly. Including your email address and/or phone number in your “in search of” post is just an invitation for scammers to contact you directly.
• Deals that sound too good to be true, usually are.
• Look at the owner’s listing. Does the host’s name match the name of the person you are talking to?
• Many owners use a Facebook business page as their sole direct-book listing. Most of them are legitimate, but you may have to do a little extra research to make sure you are dealing with the real owner of the property.
• If an owner shares a VRBO or AirBnB link, but invites you to contact them to direct-book for a better price, this may also be legitimate, but please do that extra investigating to be sure you are talking with the real owner.
• Take a close look at the owner’s Facebook profile. Look at their work history, friends, pages they follow, and the likes on their posts. If anything looks out of the ordinary, then they may be a scammer.
• Don’t be afraid to ask questions and talk to the owner on the phone if you can. Legitimate owners are happy to talk to their guests and don’t mind answering questions about their property and the area.
• Get the property address and check the ownership on the public tax records. You can find Bay County (Mexico Beach) at https://baypa.net/ and Gulf County (St. Joe Beach, Port St. Joe, and Windmark Beach) at https://gulfpa.com/ If the property is owned by an LLC, ask the owner for further proof that they are a member of the LLC. You can even ask to see a copy of a utility bill.
• Pay attention to their use of the English language. Do they sound American? Most scammers are outside of the U.S. For example, use of the word “kindly” is a big tip off that you are probably dealing with a scammer in another country.
• Beware of paying with any type of cash app service – PayPal Friends and Family, Venmo, CashApp, etc. – and avoid any foreign bank transfers. These types of transactions are irreversible. Once the scammer has their money, they will block you, and you won’t be able to get a refund.
• If you are uncertain if a profile is a fake or not, contact the admins by messaging this page, and we’ll try to help. At the end of the day, if you feel at all uncomfortable with the person you’re dealing with, then it’s better just to walk away.
