Surprise! Here’s your Punchbowl invitation — to a scam
If you receive a Punchbowl invitation for a friend’s event, don’t rush out to buy a new party dress just yet. That festive invite could just be part of a dangerous phishing scam.
CONSUMER ADVOCACY
The Consumer Rescue advocacy team resolves problems between consumers and the businesses that they patronize. We do this via direct mediation with companies — always free of charge.
These articles are the highlighted tales of our efforts to defend, protect, and educate consumers. Michelle Couch-Friedman is a consumer advocate, reporter and ombudsman columnist. She is also the founder of Consumer Rescue.
Costco Travel told us we didn’t need visas. That mistake cost us $13,000 and our dream cruise
A Canadian couple say Costco Travel told them that they did not need visas to take a cruise to Brazil. But when they arrived at the pier in Buenos Aires on embarkation day, Celebrity crew members said otherwise. As a result the stunned husband and wife were denied boarding the cruise and left stranded in Argentina.
These would-be passengers say the disastrous travel fiasco cost them over $13,000 — no cruise included.
How my own daughter’s $1 donation turned into a $2,000 Zelle scam
I’ve spent years writing about Zelle scams and how to recognize and avoid them. That’s what makes what happened to my daughter last week on the streets of Philadelphia so unusual.
Wrong gas, wrong guy: Why is Hertz demanding $9,000 for rental car repairs?
If you accidentally put the wrong gas in a rental car, you’re most certainly headed for a giant repair bill. Mohit Govani recently discovered just how giant after Hertz accused him of destroying the engine of a Subaru Outback. The Vehicle Incident Report (VIR) says incorrect fuel caused an astounding $9,000 in damage to the rental car.
Extenuating circumstances forced my family to cancel our Vrbo. So where’s our $3,497 refund?
As devastating storms caused flooding and widespread damage in Maui last March, a Pennsylvania family canceled their beachfront Vrbo reservation. That was a logical decision they assumed would be covered by Vrbo’s extenuating circumstances policy. But the vacation rental’s third-party management company disagreed and refused to provide any refund.
Instant regret: Cruise passenger buys $3,100 “magic device” during a port stop
Don’t let extreme buyer’s remorse ruin your next cruise. Impulsively spending money you don’t have on something you don’t want is a recipe for a vacation disaster. During a recent sailing, one Norwegian Cruise Line passenger learned this painful $3,100 lesson the hard way.
Here’s her cautionary tale and what cruise passengers should know about the unpleasant realities of overspending during port-stop shopping excursions.
Shock at the dock: Brazil visa rule leaves nearly 100 cruise passengers denied boarding
Attention travelers: If your cruise ship is docking in Brazil, get a tourist visa or get denied boarding.
I fell for a Facebook ad scam. How do I get my money back?
People either love Facebook or hate it. An increasing number of former users are leaning toward the latter and pressing the eject button. In their place, though, swarms of scammers have moved in. The bad actors create “helpful” Facebook groups, lurk in Direct Messenger, advertise non-existent products, and stalk the Marketplace for victims. Their only intention is to con as many legitimate Facebook users as possible before being detected — and banned.
4 easily avoidable travel mistakes that ruin trips and cost thousands
Every week, travelers come to me after losing thousands of dollars on trips that should have been simple. They’re all hoping to find out how to get their money back and who is responsible for their losses. But for some, the answers to those questions are not what they expected.
These are the biggest travel mistakes I’m seeing in 2026 — and how to avoid them.
She went to Facebook for a Norse Atlantic refund. Instead, scammers stole $5,100 from her
Norse Atlantic Airways customer Joanne Reston joined the airline’s official Facebook group to complain about a missing refund. At least that’s what she thought she was doing. As it turns out that Facebook group had no affiliation with the airline. In fact, it was just a trap set by scammers pretending to be helpful Norse agents.
What happened to Reiss after joining that Facebook group can only be described as a whirlwind of one scam after another.
