Summer Vacation Scams: DNSFilter Warns of Increased Online Threats

Strategic Insights -

As summer vacation planning heats up, a new report from DNSFilter reveals a surge in online scams targeting unsuspecting travelers. According to the report, bad actors are already using terms like "vacation," "travel," and "all-inclusive" to entrap users looking for deals, tips, and offers. The DNSFilter research team analyzed data from its platform and found that traffic to travel sites peaks between January and May, coinciding with an increase in attempted scams.

Key Takeaways:

  • Traffic to threat sites that include the word "travel" spikes between May and June each year, with a peak of 256% over the average on May 8, 2024.
  • "Vacation" domains are blocked more often in the summer, with a record 3.46% of all traffic to domains with "vacation" in their name blocked on June 12, 2024.
  • April 2025 saw a 116% increase in traffic to threat sites with travel terms in their name compared to the average since 2023.
  • Airline and location names are frequently used by fraudsters in malicious sites purporting to be legitimate travel sites.
  • The top-trafficked vacation scam sites include the word "Mexico," and spelling errors like "daels" (instead of "deals") can be a dead giveaway.
  • Consumers need to stick with trusted, legitimate travel sites and avoid clicking on suspicious links.

Statistics:

  • Traffic to threat sites with travel terms in their name was 235% higher between May and July 2024 than the overall average between 2023 and April 2025.
  • Traffic to malicious sites with "travel" in the domain name was 256% higher on May 8, 2024, compared to the average between 2023 and April 2025.

Sources:

  • DNSFilter news release.