Phishing Scam Victimized Over 100 Japanese Hotels

Above, the front desk of an Atami ryokan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Over 100 Japanese hotels have fallen victim to a phishing scam involving Booking.com.

Kyodo News reported:

TOKYO - Over 100 hotels in Japan have fallen victim to email scams that try to steal customers' credit card information using accommodation reservation site Booking.com, a Kyodo News tally found Saturday.

Some of the hotels said their customers lost money after the fraudsters stole their card details. The Japan Tourism Agency has instructed Booking.com Japan K.K., the Japanese unit of the major lodging booking site operator, to conduct a full investigation.

Booking.com Japan declined to comment on the financial damage. 

The phishing scams come as similar cases are reported worldwide, and Japan sees a return to booming tourism levels after COVID-19 border restrictions were lifted.

With the help of anonymous cybersecurity specialist Piyokango, the Kyodo News count found that as of March 26, some 118 accommodation businesses in at least 21 prefectures have been affected since June last year.

Fraudsters send emails to Japanese hotels to access their Booking.com management system. The email contains a link, which infects a computer once clicked.

Personally, whenever I have traveled to Japan, I book rooms directly with the hotels. 

To read the full article, go here.

Booking Campsites Is Not As Hard Now

Above, Tucson Lazydays KOA last year. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Since the pandemic, more people have purchased RVs and are hitting the road in record numbers. Yet, despite this, booking campsites is not as hard now.

RV Travel takes a look at this in an article.

They begin it with:

Back in 2022, people were screaming. If you wanted to go camping, they said, good luck trying to find a spot. A new survey says things have loosened up. Booking campsites is not nearly as hard as it was then, even though the number of RVers booking sites has increased significantly.

95 million campers in 2023

App promoter The Dyrt released its 2024 Camping Report, with statistics based on surveys of three different interest groups. The first, 7,000 members of its camper community. The other two, a representative sample of 1,000 U.S. residents, and finally, camping property managers across all 50 states.

Last year, says The Dyrt, almost 95 million Americans went camping. Of that number, 5.5 million went on their first camping adventure. Turning back the dial, the survey shows the number of new campers since 2021 is now up to 20 million. So, you wonder, how does this make booking campsites any easier?

To read more, go here. 

Who To Use For Japan Flight Tickets?

Above, a Singapore Airlines Airbus A380 being readied for a flight to Japan. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

Someone asked the question, What is the cheapest airline for flying in and out of Tokyo? over at The Independent (U.K.). Since I am not a subscriber, I could not read the article.

But it did remind me that I got my best airline ticket deals at GatewayLAX, a flight booking company. I used them for several of my trips to Japan (and for some domestic flights). The last time I used them was for my October 2015 trip to Japan.

Some examples from years ago:

Now it seems that they are out of business. The link to them I have is no longer viable and there is no trace of them through Google. 

If I were to travel to Japan in the future (I just renewed my U.S. Passport), I would likely go through Expedia, Priceline or Kayak. I have used Expedia and Priceline, but haven't tried Kayak. 

Some say going directly through an airline's ticketing sites are the best ways to getting good deals. Maybe so. I haven't tried it before. 

We'll have to wait and see what the future unfolds.

New "Arvie" Booking Service Isn't Pleasing Everybody

Above, the Double J Campground in Chatham, Illinois. Photo by Armand Vaquer.

As the old saying goes, "you can't please everybody."

That's the way it is with a new online RV campground booking service. One major campground company is not pleased with it and wants no part of it.

RV Travel reported:

RVers tired of endlessly searching the internet for available campsites now have access to a new service that creator and founder Mark Petersen thinks could change the way people plan their trips.

But at least one major campground operator (Kampgrounds of America Inc.) isn’t happy with the new service, and has sent the new company a “cease and desist” letter protesting the methods used by Petersen’s new “Arvie™” booking service. KOA is demanding that all KOA inventory be immediately removed from the Arvie.com website.

Petersen said Arvie is a subscription service and acts as an online travel agency for RVers, designed to help campers find, compare, and instantly book the best campsites for all of their trips using a sleek and centralized interface.

To read more, go here.