Canadian man loses $2K after booking trip through fake travel website
A Canadian man is out over $2,200 after booking a trip to Brazil through a fraudulent travel website.
In October, Sam Salam said he Googled travel companies when booking his flight to Brazil to visit his girlfriend. After he paid for his ticket, Salam said something didn't seem right after he called the number online.
"They sent me a ticket, but it was a strange ticket, and they said they would send me the real original ticket at a later time," Salam, of Vancouver, B.C., told CTV News Toronto.
- Download our app to get local alerts on your device
- Get the latest local updates right to your inbox
Salam booked his ticket through Flight Centre Canada – or so he thought. He decided to visit a Flight Centre location in person when his ticket didn't arrive, and that's when he found out he had booked his trip through a fraudulent company.
"When I went in the office, they already knew about this problem and said it was a scam," said Salam.
Salam was scammed out of $2,280.
Sam Salam (left) fell victim to a scam costing him $2,280 when he booked a flight to visit his girlfriend in Brazil through a fake website. (Photo submitted by Sam Salam).
Flight Centre Canada is now warning its customers to be careful when booking a flight they don’t end up on a fake website imitating their company.
"We are seeing a lot of fraudulent websites pop up that imitate Flight Centre Canada," said Chris Lynes, the managing director of Flight Centre Canada. "A lot of the time people will show up at the airport and not realize that they don't have real tickets."
According to the company, an example of a website imitating Flight Centre Canada is when "center" is used in the link, which is the American spelling of the word.
This is what Flight Centre Canada said their real website looks like. (Flight Centre)
The company said it has heard from many victims who have lost thousands of dollars and wants to warn its customers to be careful when booking a trip.
"We are in contact with Google, and our legal team has been working on this to remove these sites, but as soon as we get one down, another one seems to pop up," said Lynes.
Salam had to buy another ticket to go to Brazil, and despite being scammed, he said he had a good trip with his girlfriend and likes to try to keep a positive outlook.
"Thank God I'm keeping safe and happy, and as we say in French, 'C'est la vie!'" said Salam.
Salam could not get a refund because he paid with a debit card. When booking travel you should always use a credit card because if there is a problem you have a better chance of getting a refund if something goes wrong.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
BREAKING B.C. serial killer Robert Pickton hospitalized after prison attack
British Columbia serial killer Robert Pickton sustained life-threatening injuries in a Quebec prison Sunday in what officials described as a 'major assault.'
Passenger killed, 30 injured as Singapore Airlines flight hits severe turbulence
One passenger was killed and 30 injured after a Singapore Airlines SIAL.SI flight from London hit severe turbulence en route on Tuesday, forcing it to make an emergency landing in Bangkok, officials and the airline said.
WATCH Why today's inflation numbers are good if you have a mortgage
New inflation data is 'welcome news' for consumers and an economist says it could signal the possibility for a interest rate cut as several core measures also continue to ease.
Conservatives kick off return to House with new call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign
Pierre Poilievre's Conservatives returned to the House of Commons on Tuesday with a renewed call for Speaker Greg Fergus to resign, this time over 'very partisan' and 'inflammatory' language used to promote an upcoming event.
opinion Tom Mulcair: With Trudeau spiralling, Mark Carney waits in the wings
In his latest column for CTVNews.ca, former NDP leader Tom Mulcair argues that if there's an unofficial frontrunner in the eventual race to replace Justin Trudeau as Liberal leader, it has to be former Bank of Canada governor Mark Carney.
Trump campaign calls 'The Apprentice' 'blatantly false,' director offers to screen it for him
Donald Trump's reelection campaign called 'The Apprentice,' a film about the former U.S. president in the 1980s, 'pure fiction' and vowed legal action following its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. But director Ali Abbasi is offering to privately screen the film for Trump.
Feels like mid-30s in parts of Canada, while other areas expecting snow
Anything is possible this week, as far as Canada's weather is concerned, with forecasts ranging from scorching heat in some parts of the country to rain and snow in others.
Nestle to sell $5 pizza, sandwiches in the U.S. for Wegovy, Ozempic users
Nestle NESN.S will market a new, US$5 line of frozen pizzas and protein-enriched pastas in the United States which it says it designed specifically for people taking drugs such as Wegovy or Ozempic for weight loss.
How much more Canadian consumers are paying, compared to this time last year
Canada's annual inflation rate slowed to a three-year low of 2.7 per cent in April, matching expectations, and core measures continued to ease, data showed on Tuesday, likely boosting chances of a June interest rate cut.