As summer travel kicked off in June, vacation rental scams hit record levels. Fraudsters used AI to generate professional-looking listings for luxury villas at “too good to be true” prices on major platforms. They often convinced travelers to move the conversation off-platform to WhatsApp, where they sent fake “verified” payment links. Travelers would arrive at their destination only to find the property didn’t exist or was already occupied by the actual owners, leaving them stranded and out thousands of dollars.