TripAdvisor employs some of the best minds dedicated to fighting Internet fraud in order to ensure the integrity of our content and to protect consumers across the globe. We want to publicly thank them for their investigative efforts. We applaud the professionals at the FCC for taking meaningful action, and TripAdvisor stands ready for continued partnership in the future in order to help protect U.S. consumers. -- Adam Medros, Senior Vice President, TripAdvisor
NEEDHAM, Mass., June 22, 2017 -- The following is a statement by Adam Medros, Senior Vice President, Product, TripAdvisor:
“TripAdvisor, the world’s largest travel site, is proud to have worked in partnership with the Federal Communications Commission to protect millions of U.S. consumers who have been subjected to robocall marketing scams.
Late in 2015, TripAdvisor became aware that some U.S. consumers were receiving calls with faked or spoofed local phone numbers that included a recorded voice greeting. The calls illegally claimed to be associated with our brand and other well-known travel companies in an attempt to confuse and deceive consumers into purchasing deceptive or non-existent travel deals.
These robocall marketing scams were intrusive, annoying and – for some people – incessant. The calls ultimately connected Americans to call centers in Mexico that usually attempted to fleece innocent consumers out of their hard-earned money by promising too-good-to-be-true vacation deals. Unfortunately, the scammers had been targeting the entire travel industry for quite some time. The list of brands impersonated by these fraudsters goes well beyond TripAdvisor and reads like a who’s who of well-known airlines, hoteliers and online travel agents.
Knowing that consumers were being defrauded while thinking they were purchasing from brands like ours that they trusted, TripAdvisor’s legal team and our internal team of security and Internet fraud investigators commenced a lengthy and detailed effort to see if we could help stop the scams.
Over the past year, TripAdvisor has worked closely with the FCC, including providing them with information obtained through our internal investigation, which helped uncover much of the illegal activity related to today’s FCC enforcement action. We’re thankful for the significant effort and attention the FCC has dedicated to stopping these bad actors.
Because of the FCC’s prompt action leveraging TripAdvisor’s initial investigation, we believe millions of consumers will be free from these robocalls and will be better protected from others attempting similar tactics in the future.
TripAdvisor employs some of the best minds dedicated to fighting Internet fraud in order to ensure the integrity of our content and to protect consumers across the globe. We want to publicly thank them for their investigative efforts. We applaud the professionals at the FCC for taking meaningful action, and TripAdvisor stands ready for continued partnership in the future in order to help protect U.S. consumers.”
About TripAdvisor
TripAdvisor, the world's largest travel site*, enables travelers to unleash the full potential of every trip. With more than 500 million reviews and opinions covering the world's largest selection of travel listings worldwide -- over 7 million accommodations, airlines, attractions, and restaurants -- TripAdvisor provides travelers with the wisdom of the crowds to help them decide where to stay, how to fly, what to do and where to eat. TripAdvisor also compares prices from more than 200 hotel booking sites so travelers can find the lowest price on the hotel that's right for them. TripAdvisor-branded sites are available in 49 markets, and are home to the world's largest travel community of 390 million average unique monthly visitors,** all looking to get the most out of every trip. TripAdvisor: Know better. Book better. Go better.
TripAdvisor, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRIP), through its subsidiaries, manages and operates websites under 22 other travel media brands:
www.airfarewatchdog.com, www.bookingbuddy.com, www.citymaps.com, www.cruisecritic.com, www.familyvacationcritic.com, www.flipkey.com, www.thefork.com (including www.lafourchette.com, www.eltenedor.com, www.iens.nl and www.dimmi.com.au), www.gateguru.com, www.holidaylettings.co.uk, www.holidaywatchdog.com, www.housetrip.com, www.independenttraveler.com, www.jetsetter.com, www.niumba.com, www.onetime.com, www.oyster.com, www.seatguru.com, www.smartertravel.com, www.tingo.com, www.tripbod.com, www.vacationhomerentals.com and www.viator.com.
*Source: comScore Media Metrix for TripAdvisor Sites, worldwide, December 2016
**Source: TripAdvisor log files, Q1 2017
