Scams and off-platform payments

Every legitimate booking on Rainbow Tour Guides is paid for through the platform's own secure checkout. If anyone — a guide, a "traveler," or someone claiming to represent Rainbow Tour Guides — asks you to pay a different way, that's a warning sign.

Why payment stays on the platform

When you pay through Rainbow Tour Guides:

• Your price was locked in when you made the request, so it can't change later.
• Your payment is processed securely, and your booking is only confirmed once that payment is captured.
• Chat with your guide only unlocks once the booking is confirmed and paid — so there's no legitimate reason to be asked to arrange payment through a side conversation before that point.
• If something goes wrong, our team can look into it, because there's a record of the booking and payment.

None of that protection exists if money changes hands outside the platform.

Warning signs to watch for

• A guide asking you to pay by bank transfer, gift card, cryptocurrency, or a personal payment app instead of through checkout.
• Anyone asking you to pay "extra" fees on top of what checkout shows you.
• A message that tries to move the conversation off the platform before a booking is even confirmed — which shouldn't be possible in the first place, since chat only opens after payment.
• Pressure to pay quickly, or a story about why the normal checkout "isn't working" for this particular booking.

What you're actually charged

You pay the guide's base price plus a fixed 10% traveler service fee — nothing more. The service fee is always non-refundable, but it's also fixed, so there's never a legitimate reason for a guide to ask you to pay something different or additional outside the app. See Understand tour pricing.

If this happens to you

Don't send any money outside the platform, and don't share full card or bank details anywhere other than the platform's own secure checkout. Let us know right away. See Report a safety concern.

Still need help?

For more on recognizing fake messages, see Phishing and fake messages. To reach our team, use the contact form.