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From haunted houses to cheap plane and car tickets, to social media and WhatsApp messages promising discounts and special offers. With the arrival of the holidays, travel scams are growing more sophisticated and intricate thanks to artificial intelligence, warns Codacons, a consumer protection organization. Among the most popular scams are "ghost" vacation rentals, which appear on fake specialized websites providing lodgings at incredibly reasonable costs and use artificial intelligence to generate highly accurate and reliable interior and exterior photographs. It is nearly impossible for the average user to identify the scam, as these listings are also promoted through deepfake videos that feature fake hostesses introducing the property. Once payment is received, which is typically done via bank transfer, the victim who reaches the house either finds it empty or finds it inhabited by other visitors who booked through genuine methods. Additionally, the association notes that travel guides composed wholly with artificial intelligence by nonexistent authors have been published on e-commerce platforms, in addition to other methods. They frequently contain material that is not only wrong but wholly fabricated, as well as references to locations that do not exist.
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