Just Got Taken on an Alhambra Tour

So sorry. I hope you get help from the card. I got taken on Prado tix. This seems to be pretty rampant in Spain.

So sorry to hear that this happened to you. :O(

Just curious, was the tour company that you were taken in by Walker Tours, per chance? I'm asking as, if so, you are in unfortunate company where that business is concerned: there have been a number of prior forum threads about that one. They cleverly design their websites look 'official' so those previous threads have warned the nice folks here to be especially careful when googling up a ticketing/tour site. Any which come up and includes "By Walker" in their header (or anywhere else in their text) are to be avoided.

There are likely other sellers which should be avoided but Walker is the one I've seen the most complaints about.

I am very sorry that this happened. These shadow websites seem far more prevalent these days. However, don’t be upset if your dispute doesn’t go through at your credit card. The company is selling what you agreed to buy from them. In the end, you did agree to this purchase. Fraud and buyers remorse are two different things.

The company is Al-Andalus Tours. But you don't get that name until after you purchase. They do work to make their site look like the official one (and I typed in the official site-- only to end up with this "shadow" site.)

Next time you want to buy tickets to an attraction, Google for "xxxxxx. official ticket site."
I tried this and the first one that popped up was the official site:

https://tickets.alhambra-patronato.es/en/

Do the tickets you bought include a guided tour? The website stated it was guided. If it is then I think $234 is not bad price. If its only tickets then I’m sorry about that.

No- it is not for a guided tour

I'm so sorry you got taken! When I started reading I had the same thought as Kate and wondered if it was Walker Tours. I've even gotten on that site accidentally for the Orsay Museum in Paris and I am literally on that website once a week or so! I have no idea how that happened as I have the official website bookmarked on that laptop as well as being a frequent visitor. I only noticed as the ticket price was 3X as high as the normal cost.

Crazy how these shadow sites invade!

I too am sorry that this happened to you.

I got bilked out of $759 when I went to a fake aa.com site. The merchant did refund $450.00. but Citi favored the merchant when it came to the over $300 balance because I had accepted goods and services.

This sort of problem is happening more and more and we will be hearing about this more and more.

Thank you for making forum aware. I will be interested in what the final outcome will be.

Oh no, I’m really sorry that happened. I hope your credit card company honors the dispute. There are so many sites out there that look official, it’s easy to be duped. I'm always extra cautious when booking tickets for that very reason. My timed Alhambra/Palacios Nazaríes ticket on the official site was only 21 euros.

What a rude awakening! Very sorry that this happened to you. I go by the rubric that if the cost seems too high, check other sites but especially "Name of Attraction Official Website". I also check the RS guidebook because he gives the price of the venue at that time in his book. Fingers crossed that you are reimbursed. Please let the forum know the outcome. You are going to love the ALHAMBRA!

I am also sorry that this happened to you. Thank you for sharing your experience, which could help others in the future. One of my (almost) full-proof ways of finding official websites involves Wikipedia. I don’t search/Google “site name official” as it leads to third-party sites that look too much like the official websites and fool unsuspecting customers.

I usually go to the Wikipedia page of the site. In this case, Alhambra. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alhambra

I scroll down to the section called “External Links.” Usually, the first link is for the official site. This works well for all major sites/museums.

https://www.alhambra-patronato.es/en

Thank you- this is very helpful. I learned an expensive lesson!

"There are so many sites out there that look official..."

They are designed to be.

Maybe with a tiiiny little piece somewhere unobtrusive to let on they aren't the official site, maybe not.

Something similar happened to this retiree -
Tech Support Scammers Stole $85,000 From Him. His Bank Declined to Refund Him.

A retired lawyer lost the money in a tech support scam, a type of online fraud that is surging. Citibank said it couldn’t recover the funds, which criminals wired from inside his account.
David Welles, a retired lawyer, had been struggling with his new iPad for hours when he tried to call tech support. But instead of dialing Microsoft to help him connect his email, the phone number he found on Google put him in touch with cybercriminals.

Called "google bombing".

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Google_bombing

By coordinating a large number of websites they own they can boost "blah-blah Technical Support" to whatever phone number they want. Until google's automated algorithm catches up and/or a complaint* is made.

(* that a human will pay attention to)

edit: the trick to use Wikipedia to find these numbers as mentioned above is good. But if that gets more popular, and since anyone can edit (temporarily) the Wikipedia page, this kind of attack will happen (more often?) there as well.

edit2: I've heard the latest type "bombing" thing is people take over the little local location icons for different businesses on google maps. Then re-route the contact info.

A sentence from the above Wikipedia article, under "spamdexing": "Promoters using this technique frequently target forums with low reader traffic, in hopes that it will fly under the moderators' radar." Or, the very reason why we jump all over the fake ads here to get them to our "web-blaster" for speedy removal. We have low reader traffic?

Thank you all for your support and great information. Good news- my credit card company took the charge off my account. So I am now going to go to the RIGHT website-- and I learned a lesson!

I’m glad you got it resolved! BTW, you will need a copy of your passport when you go to the Alhambra. There are checkpoints along the way where you need to show your passport copy and ticket. Apparently to cut down on resellers.

Just thought I'd mention that there is one of these sites disguising itself as the "official" place to buy Sagrada Familia tickets. Their tickets are about 3 times the real price. I didn't fall for it but was confused for a bit. It very much appeared to be legit.