Recognizing Scams Impersonating Tripadvisor

We have been made aware of several scams pretending to be Tripadvisor to steal money or infect systems with malware. If you are suspicious of any communication that claims to have been sent by Tripadvisor, forward it to help@tripadvisor.com so that we can confirm its authenticity.

Here are some tips to prevent falling victim to such scams:

  • No company in the global Tripadvisor group, whether Tripadvisor Inc. or any other, will ever ask you to send direct bank transfers to secure a vacation rental. If someone asks you to do so, don’t.

  • Tripadvisor does not act as a real estate agent. If you receive a message claiming Tripadvisor will act as your agent and arrange a property viewing, it is not legitimate.

  • Vacation rentals advertised on another platform that try to redirect to a Tripadvisor-branded site for a reservation are likely illegitimate. Just because a website or an email features Tripadvisor branding, this does not guarantee that it is genuine. Fraudsters steal logos and information from legitimate companies all the time in order to trick their victims.

  • No company in the Tripadvisor group will ever ask you to make payments in any cryptocurrency.

  • Legitimate Tripadvisor links will begin with tripadvisor.com, or include our country-specific domains like tripadvisor.com.br or tripadvisor.co.uk. Be sure that the link you click on leads to the real Tripadvisor website. For instance, tripadvisero1.com is not a legitimate Tripadvisor URL.

  • Hovering your cursor over a link before clicking on it is generally good practice to ensure you’re being sent to the right place.

  • Legitimate Tripadvisor communications will not require you to open ZIP file attachments and download programs.

  • Tripadvisor does not offer part-time jobs to give ratings to businesses, nor will it leverage WhatsApp or Telegram to communicate with users. If you are contacted with such an offer, it is not legitimate.

If you lost money and/or provided sensitive information to a scammer, please contact your bank, local authorities, or law enforcement.

For examples of media coverage of such scams, see:

  • https://www.malwarebytes.com/blog/news/2024/02/airbnb-scam-sends-you-to-a-fake-tripadvisor-site-takes-your-money

  • https://thecryptoadviser.co.uk/trip-uk-tripadvisor-rp-crypto-scam/

  • https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/knight-ransomware-distributed-in-fake-tripadvisor-complaint-emails

  • https://thecryptoadviser.co.uk/tripadvisor-ltd-review-work-home-crypto-scam/