The Avanti Group Inc - Ultimate Travel Guide Tokyo Hong Kong Malaysia scams to get card numbers

The Watchdog is still in vacation mode. I just got back from a family trip to Florida. We had a blast.

This is the time of year when your mind may be on vacations, too. If you're looking ahead to a lazy summer trip, don't relax too much because unfortunately, scammers will hound you while you plan and even follow you on the road, too.

The state attorney general's office recently warned about travel scams, a few of which were news to me. One involves pizza deliveries, of all things.

Who hasn't had a craving for pizza after checking into a hotel in an unfamiliar city where you don't want to hunt for a decent place to chow down. You pick up the menu that's conveniently been slipped under your door and order away.

The scam is that the menus have a phone number that connect with an identity thief, not a pizza parlor. You won't get your large pie, and the thief will live large by running up charges on the credit card you provided for payment.

The attorney general's office recommends contacting the hotel's front desk or concierge for take-out suggestions. You also can look on your smartphone or in the phone book.

Speaking of phones, if your hotel room phone rings in the middle of the night and the caller identifies himself as the front desk needing to verify your credit card, hang up.

A Bethlehem man was targeted with that scam last year.

He told me he was in Virginia when the phone rang near midnight. He didn't answer it. The next morning at breakfast, the hotel manager asked if he'd received a call. Other guests had, too. The caller was telling guests they'd been overcharged and he needed their credit card to correct the amount.

Think about it. While a mistake like that could happen, why would it have to be corrected with a midnight call? Your credit card already should be on file from when you checked in. This is another con artist after your credit card info.

Another scam the attorney general's office warned about involves cab drivers who insist on unloading your bags at a hotel or airport.

"The cabbie then tells the passenger that he is in a rush, slams the trunk and speeds away. It is only later that travelers notice one of their bags is missing," the attorney general's office said in its advisory.

The attorney general's office recommends making a note of your cab company, cab number and driver's name, just in case you need it. That also would come in handy if you accidentally left something behind..

If you'd like to rent a vacation house and are looking online, be aware that crooks are looking for you online, too. They'll post ads on Craigslist for awesome homes at awesome prices. They just don't own them. They'll take your deposit and run.

Craigslist warns never to rent housing without seeing it. Unfortunately, that's not practical if you're looking for a place in another state.

If you're dealing directly with the owner, verify ownership before paying. You can do that through tax records that often can be found for free on county websites.

You may be better off contacting a company that manages rentals, or using a website like Vacation Rentals by Owner (www.vrbo.com), which allows you to purchase a guarantee to cover losses including fraud. I used that site last year to land a nice place in Rehoboth Beach, Del.