CLEVELAND -- If the cold weather has you dreaming of a vacation, do your homework so you can soak in the sun without getting scammed.
One of the biggest vacation scams comes when you go to book a place to stay. Scammers copy pictures of legitimate vacation rentals and post them on a Web site with cheap prices.
The problem is, they don't have any affiliation with the homes and you could end up paying for a house and then have no where to stay!
The Scam squad warns to be sure you don’t send money to anyone you don’t know. It’s important to make contact with people via phone instead of only through e-mail so you can verify there is a real person on the other end. Another big red flag is if anyone asks you to make payments by wiring money or using gift cards.
You should use a credit card for down payments because many cards offer protection against fraud.
If you want to report a scam or have a question for the Cuyahoga County Scam Squad, you can call them at 216-443-SCAM.