FTC warns travelers about risky Google search habits

Travelers racing to fix a reservation, reach customer service, or grab a last-minute hotel deal are being urged to slow down after new guidance from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) warned that a common way of using Google search can expose people to sophisticated scams and inflated charges.

The search shortcut that opens the door to scammers

Recent FTC consumer alerts on travel scams describe a growing pattern in which people search Google for phrases like a hotel’s name plus “customer service number” or “airline phone number,” then click the first result that looks right. Instead of reaching the brand they recognize, some travelers are landing on impostor sites or call centers that are unaffiliated with the company they think they are contacting.

According to FTC travel guidance updated in June 2026, scammers buy paid search ads or register lookalike domains and then design pages that closely mimic airline, hotel, or car rental websites. These paid ads often appear above the official website in a Google search, making them easy to confuse with legitimate results when someone is stressed about a delayed flight or a missing booking.

The agency’s advice warns that these fake search results may route callers to operators who collect card numbers, pressure them into unnecessary “service fees,” or process reservations at much higher prices than the official channels. In some cases highlighted in public complaint databases, travelers only discover the problem when the hotel cannot find their reservation or when a bank statement shows unexpected charges.

The FTC emphasizes that the risky habit is not the use of Google itself, but the practice of treating the top search result or ad as automatically trustworthy when seeking customer support or booking links.

How travel and customer-service impostor scams work

FTC consumer alerts on travel and customer-service imposters describe several recurring tactics that rely on search behavior. Some scammers set up websites that use a well-known travel brand’s name alongside generic terms like “reservations” or “guest services,” then pay for those pages to be promoted in search results. Others advertise generic “airline customer service” numbers that in reality connect to third-party agencies with no formal link to the carriers named in their ads.

Publicly available enforcement records and complaint summaries show that once a traveler calls these numbers, scammers may claim they are “partners” or “preferred agents” for the airline or hotel. They often quote higher prices than official channels, add non-refundable “processing” or “reissuance” fees, or insist that changes and cancellations must go through them, not the airline or hotel itself. When trips fall through, consumers report struggling to obtain refunds.

The FTC’s broader work on impersonation scams notes that older adults are disproportionately likely to lose money in tech-support and business-impersonation schemes. Regulators have linked some of those losses to people searching online for help, then dialing the first number that appears for technical support or customer care. Travel-related scams now exhibit many of the same red flags, but are often triggered by searches for itinerary changes, lost confirmations, or urgent schedule problems.

Separate published reporting has also documented how fake business phone numbers can temporarily surface in Google results or business listings, illustrating how quickly a bogus contact number can be promoted and how hard it can be for hurried users to spot the difference.

FTC’s latest advice for safer searching and booking

The June 2026 FTC consumer alert on avoiding summer travel scams offers specific guidance for anyone relying on Google to plan or fix a trip. One key recommendation is to scroll beyond the sponsored or “ad” results at the top of the page and look for the official company website in the regular search listings before calling or booking.

The agency also urges travelers to check the web address carefully. Official airline and hotel websites typically use clear brand domains, while scam or unauthorized sites may add extra words, unusual spellings, or unfamiliar country codes. If the address in the browser bar does not match what appears on loyalty-program emails, recent statements, or the company’s own printed materials, the FTC suggests leaving the site and navigating directly to the brand’s known domain.

When searching for customer-service numbers, consumer guidance from both the FTC and major technology companies recommends starting on the company’s own website or app instead of relying on phone numbers that appear in search snippets, knowledge panels, or AI-generated summaries. For airlines and large hotel chains, official mobile apps and recent booking emails usually display the same customer-support channels that appear on their primary websites.

The FTC also advises travelers to review a company or unfamiliar booking site by pairing its name with words like “scam,” “review,” or “complaint” in a separate search before paying. This quick step, officials note, can surface warnings from regulators, Better Business Bureau complaints, or consumer forum posts that reveal patterns of unauthorized charges, unreachable customer support, or problems securing promised refunds.

Real-world consequences for travelers’ wallets

Consumer complaints compiled by public agencies and organizations such as the Better Business Bureau show how this type of search habit can lead directly to financial loss. In one published case, a traveler looking for a hotel’s reservations page searched the property name on Google and clicked the first result, believing it to be the official site. Only later did the guest learn that the reservation had been routed through an unrelated third party at a substantially higher price than the hotel would have charged directly.

Other complaints describe travelers who contacted what they thought was an airline’s customer-service number, only to later discover they had been speaking with a separate call center that imposed additional change fees on top of what the airline itself required. Some consumers reported being charged “cancellation assistance” or “fare adjustment” fees that were not listed anywhere on the airline’s own website.

FTC impersonation data show that business impostor schemes, including scams tied to fake customer-service channels, can result in median losses of several thousand dollars when people are persuaded to transfer money, share banking credentials, or authorize large card payments under pressure. While not every search-related travel scam reaches those amounts, agencies note that even a single inflated hotel bill or non-refundable booking can significantly increase the cost of a trip.

For frequent travelers, the problem is compounded when multiple bookings are involved. If a family uses the same misleading search pattern for hotels, rental cars, and flight changes across a complex itinerary, repeated extra fees and unfavorable cancellation terms can quietly add up to hundreds of dollars beyond what official channels would have charged.

Steps travelers can take before their next search

The FTC’s recent alerts encourage travelers to plan ahead so they do not need to rely on hurried Google searches in stressful situations. One recommendation is to save official airline and hotel apps on mobile devices and to bookmark genuine websites in a browser before a trip begins. Having these direct links on hand reduces the temptation to type brand names and “phone number” into a search bar when a flight is canceled or a booking needs to be changed.

Public guidance also suggests keeping confirmation emails and digital boarding passes accessible, since they typically include links back to the official website and, in many cases, to live chat or in-app messaging that can replace a phone call. Travelers who prefer to speak with someone by phone are advised to obtain the customer-service number directly from the company’s site or from printed materials such as loyalty cards and luggage tags.

When a Google search is unavoidable, regulators recommend approaching the results page with caution. Travelers can look closely for “ad” labels, avoid unknown third-party booking platforms that are not widely recognized, and cross-check any phone number that appears in a search box or AI-generated answer against the company’s own site. If a representative immediately demands remote access to a device, payment by wire transfer, cryptocurrency, or gift card, or insists that a deal is available only if paid for on the spot, consumer alerts advise ending the interaction.

Finally, the FTC urges anyone who encounters a suspicious travel site, fake customer-service number, or unexpected fee to report it using the agency’s online fraud reporting system. Those reports, combined with complaints collected by other organizations, help regulators identify emerging search-related scams more quickly and support future enforcement actions and public warnings.