Orlando Scams To Watch Out For – Florida Scams

There are various Orlando scams that you need to be on the look out for. We thought the USA would be a little less scammy but it turns out we were wrong. If you’re going on holiday, make sure you’re clued up on the various Florida scams that you may fall prey to.

Thankfully there aren’t as many scams in Orlando to worry about, unlike the many scams you can see in this common Bangkok scams article which we put together after our trip to Thailand! You might not come across all these USA scams, hopefully, you don’t come across any but if you do, hopefully, you’ll be able to spot them and stop them in their tracks!

Is Orlando Safe For Tourists?

Orlando is a safe place for tourists but that doesn’t mean there are no scams because there are. The main advice we can give is to make sure what the scams are so you can keep an eye out for them. Also, if something seems too good to be true, like really cheap tickets, it probably is so don’t fall for it.

Orlando Common Street Scams

You’ll find some of the common Orlando scams below that you are likely to come across. If someone can make money from a tourist they will and they don’t care who they hurt in the process.

Car Hire Scam – Hidden Charges

This was one we fell for. We booked a car online thinking that it was going to cost us £400. However, when we got to the care hire place they charged us closer to £1000 for hidden extras we didn’t need. They charged us stupid amounts for insurance etc. even though it was covered under our holiday insurance.

They also charged us for tolls telling us that it would be $15 per day and that would pay for any tolls we come across and anything left over would be refunded back to us. However, when we took the car back they told us that that was just for activation and we had to then pay for tolls on top.

Two things we suggest, don’t book with OC Car Rental in Florida as they will rip you off. The second, do your homework. Check the reviews on Google, a lot of companies have fake reviews but go to the worst ones first and see what people really think. You can also record the conversation you have with the car hire staff so they can’t go back on their word.

Car Hire Scam – Damaged (but not really)

This is the second car hire scam, they will collect their car and then tell you it was damaged to get more money from you. OC Car Rental who scammed us tried to take the car away very fast and I told them they could wait, I filmed the entire car and took pictures of everything even the mileage and wing mirrors!

Make sure you have evidence that the car was in the same condition when you dropped it off and they won’t be able to scam you and take even more money!

Cheap Tickets Scam

The Florida ticket scam is one that is very common, normally around outlets that are legit so they seem legit. They will be trying to sell you really cheap tickets, normally to places such as Sea World but there’s a catch.

With the cheap Orlando ticket scam, they will try and sell you cheap tickets but you then have to fork out a lot of cash either in charitable donations (which they’ll keep) or for a timeshare which nobody wants. You can bet if you sign up for something like a timeshare, you’ll never hear about it again or get your money back.

If the cheap ticket seems too good to be true, it probably is.

We got our cheap Disney World Tickets from AttractionTickets, these are the go-to people for all Orlando Tickets. The only other site we would advise you to use to get tickets for Disney and other Orlando attractions is AttractionTix.

Fake-Ticket Scam

This is similar to the cheap ticket scam. They will sell you tickets that are “discounted” normally 10% or 20% off and you’ll think, bargain! Nope, the ticket is fake and when you go to the attraction you’ll get told the ticket is fake and won’t be allowed in.

The company trying to sell you these fake tickets will also insist on cash, if you do manage to pay on a card you’ll have weeks if not months fighting with your bank to get the money back so please don’t fall for the Orlando fake ticket scam!

Fake Disney Products

This has to be one of the largest and most common Florida scams out there. You will see LOADS of Disney outlet shops and most of them will be selling fake Disney products that never came from Disney. Although, they will have a small amount of Disney products that came from Disney and they will be close to the Disney retail price.

Take a look at our Disney stores article to know where to go. I would always suggest the Disney Character Warehouse if you’re looking for discounted Disney products in Orlando.

Online Scams

Yes, the scams start before you even get to Florida so you have to be careful even when you’re shopping online! Our advice is always to make sure the website you’re looking to book through is legit. Do your homework, look at reviews and you’ll be able to spot some fake websites because 99% of the time they’ll look terrible.

Fake Rental Properties

Fake rental properties for Orlando are a big scam that’s taken the internet by storm since the end of the pandemic. People are looking to finally go on holiday and that’s what scammers are counting on. They’ll “discount” properties and make them look amazing but not too cheap so people are fooled.

Always make sure the websites you buy from are legit. Check the reviews, see if they’re ATOL protected and go as far as to look at their social media pages and reviews. You can spot fake reviews because they’ll normally say something like “This company saved my holiday” which is a tactic they use on bad car rental companies as well. Don’t be fooled.

Fake Car Rentals

Fake car rental websites are rife and you don’t want to be caught out. Of course, you then have the risk of being scammed if you do find a cheap car rental for Florida. Our advice when it comes to car rental, go with the more prominent companies even if it means paying a little more.

Fake Ticket Websites

There are so many fake ticket websites out there I wouldn’t be able to find them all. They sell “discounted” tickets to make them look legit but they’re not and when you get to your attraction, you’ll get turned away for having fake tickets!

Buy your Orlando tickets from a reputable company, we got ours through Attraction Tickets which are 100% legit. If you’re getting your tickets online, do your homework, read reviews and don’t go for the first one you find!

How To Spot Orlando Scams

There are various ways in which you can spot a common Florida tourist scam. I’m going to bullet point a few ways you can easily find an Orlando tourist scam and hopefully not lose all of your money in the process.

• Fake reviews, look at the worst ones first and stay away from companies that have multiple reviews saying “They saved my holiday”.
• Very cheap, If something such as tickets, cars or properties are too good to be true, they probably are so do your homework first.
• Paying for other things, if you’re getting told that you have to pay for other stuff to get cheaper tickets or properties, run. The Orlando timeshare scam is a big thing to look out for, they’ll tell you that you’ll get cheap or free tickets but have to buy into a timeshare!
• Shady Locations, Although some companies will set up near legit locations to seem legit, some don’t. If the area looks a bit shady and not somewhere you’d normally want to go, leave because it’s a scam.

Orlando Tourist Scams Summary

Be on the lookout, don’t fall for something that is too good to be true and make sure you do your homework. Orlando isn’t cheap and scammers know this so they’re trying to take advantage of your money saving ways and take your money!

If this post was helpful please do let us know. We tried to include the most common Florida tourist scams to keep people updated. If there’s anything that you think we’ve missed, let us know and we’ll try and update the post.