New scam on traveling, better watch out
By kingparker
@kingparker (9673)
United States
October 5, 2012 10:58pm CST
I heard a couple of friends who discussed about this new scam when people are checking into the hotel room. Like the normal routine, they have to go through the front desk on at the lobby, submit their information, and let the front desk staff to take their payment, majority are credit card or debit card payments. When they go up to their room, a phone call made to their room, and someone pretend to be the front desk staff saying that there was some error showing in their credit card information. They request the guests to re-submit the credit card information so they can process it again. That is really criminal making that call. My friends told me that, if at any circumstance I encounter such incident, I should not submit the credit card over the phone, why not take the elevator go downstairs, and ask the front desk staff if they made that call, if yes, you can just let them re - process the credit card there again. So be careful!
4 people like this
11 responses
@mariaperalta (19073)
• Mexico
9 Oct 12
How do these scammers think of these ideas?? Do they sit together for hours coming up with these scams? We have to be careful especially with identity theft these days.
@squallming (1775)
• Malaysia
29 Nov 12
If they are able to get our numbers and check in details right after we checked into a hotel, then there is a high possibility that the scammers are actually someone inside the hotel itself. We never know who is the good guy or the bad guy by judging their appearance and the uniform they wear. Don't trust people too easily or you may just find yourself being hurt.
@bobmnu (8157)
• United States
8 Oct 12
I have received some emails claiming to be ebay or Amazon and request credit card information. I log on the the site and don't follow the link. I then report it to them.
If that happened in a motel I would ask to talk to the manage the next day because someone in the hotel might be giving out some of your information. By waiting until the next day you will get a different manager and less likely to be involved in the scam.
@squallming (1775)
• Malaysia
29 Nov 12
Wow, this is something new to me. I would say that I travel quite a lot and I stayed at a number of hotels once in a while. I have never encountered such credit card scam call before but who knows if one day I do encounter one. 
Yeah, we should always go to the hotel personnel and meet them face to face if there should be any issues need to be solved. After all, safety comes first.
Yeah, we should always go to the hotel personnel and meet them face to face if there should be any issues need to be solved. After all, safety comes first. @baddkabee (115)
• Singapore
9 Oct 12
Thanks for sharing this valuable information. This will help travellers a lot. Always be alert for these kind of modus operandi.
@EdwinBarnes (36)
• United States
8 Oct 12
I agree with you 100%m, you just can't give your credit card information to just anybody
@maximax8 (31053)
• United Kingdom
6 Oct 12
That sounds like an awful possible fraud. Yes, it that happens I would return to the reception desk. One hotel I read about had a safe with guests valuables in and one person was using some of the guests credit cards in the town.
In a magazine I read that a man got an email which looked like it was from a friend that said he was mugged in Spain and lost all his money so was asking for 1500 Euros. Then his friend phoned him and warned him it was a scam. Some criminal had stolen his friends list.
@natliegleb (5175)
• India
6 Oct 12
for sure,one of my friend was about to get cheated in a similar way at the last moment he was lucky the call got disconnected.these kind of people must be behind bars for a long time
@murkie (1103)
• Philippines
6 Oct 12
good to have that information. criminals are really getting creative.
with regard to handling credit cards, i agree with just going personally to the front desk and confirm it to the hotel staff. it's really not safe to divulge personal and financial information over the phone. and another thing i learned is that, financial institutions NEVER ask confidential information over the phone, or mail. so if someone tries to, at least i will suspect that it is not legitimate.
