Be wary of scam if trip pitch doesn't ring true

T housands of American vacationers are getting burned this summer -and not by the sun. The warm-weather wanderers are falling prey tocold-hearted hucksters offering non-existent "bargain vacations of alifetime."

Unfortunately, the "good buy" that the scam operators areoffering is a quick way for vacationers to say "goodbye" to theirhard-earned savings, warns the Federal Trade Commission, whichestimates that deceptive selling practices are defrauding Americantravelers out of millions of dollars each month. To make mattersworse, increasing numbers of travelers are being cheated during thesehard economic times, just when they're looking for ways to get themost vacation …