Scammers Target Summer Travelers In New York With Fraudulent Emails

Travelers in New York need to be aware of a new scam aiming to steal their personal information and money. Summer is a busy travel season, and scammers are trying to take full advantage of that.

New York has a few of the major airports in America. Last year, approximately 13,421,067 people traveled through the major New York City airports, per the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. That number doesn't include any of the other airports around the state. As New Yorkers continue to take their summer vacations, the Transportation Security Administration has issued a warning to travelers.

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TSA Issues Warning To Busy Travelers In New York

New Yorkers who are gearing up for a trip need to pay attention to the TSA's latest warning. TSA PreCheck is pretty popular among people who travel regularly and want to avoid delays. Some credit cards will even pay for a member's PreCheck fee. If you're not familiar with the program, "TSA PreCheck is a program that allows eligible travelers to enjoy expedited security screening at airports."

As someone who has PreCheck, along with CLEAR, I can say it makes getting through most airports' TSA security checkpoints much faster and easier. It costs $85 for 5 years, which is pretty affordable if you plan on traveling even once a year.

With that said, scammers are now using TSA PreCheck to target travelers.

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On its Facebook page, the TSA told New York travelers to make sure that any website they use to sign up for PreCheck is an official government website. Per a Federal Trade Commission consumer alert,

"No one likes waiting in airport security lines. To speed things up, some people opt to get TSA PreCheck. Scammers know this and send emails that look like they're from TSA PreCheck — but they’re not. The emails want you to click a link that takes you to a scam website that only looks like the official site — but it’s not. If you pay to “enroll” or “renew” your TSA PreCheck, you may not even realize you’ve paid a scammer until you get to the airport for your next trip. But there are ways to spot these scams."

A red flag that a scammer is targeting you is if they ask you to pay for your initial application fee online. If you are signing up for TSA PreCheck for the first time, you will not pay the fee online. "You complete the application and pay in person at a TSA enrollment center."

Make sure you are paying attention and looking for the warning signs so that you don't willing become a victim of a scam.

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