Beware of “front Desk Scams” Targeting Hotel Guests
When you stay at the hotel, you must present your credit card at the front desk. So if you get a call from your room and ask for additional credit card information, you don’t have to worry about it. But chances are it is a scam.
Here’s how it works: Thieves call hotel rooms posing as hotel managers and ask guests for credit card information. One Redditor shared this specific experience :
Sunday morning at 10:30 my phone rings in the hotel, and this manager informs me that their computer system is not working at the moment … He informs me that due to the system not working, they are for several hours lag behind in data recovery. He confirmed my room number and offered me an extended checkout (which seemed like no hangover) and also offered to pay for our cheapest night stay for the inconvenience. He mentioned that there were more than 30 people in the checkout line, offered to check me on the phone and said that I could leave my keys when I left. He asked me to confirm my credit card number and I hesitated a little and said that it would be more convenient for me to provide this in person.
The Consumer Protection Division recently also reported on a variation of this scam. But instead of a free room reward, the scammer informs guests that their cards are not working and asks them to provide their information over the phone. Consumer Affairs has proposed this general rule of thumb to avoid this kind of fraud:
Whether you receive fraudulent phone calls in your own home or hotel room, or check messages in your inbox, always remember the “Don’t Call Me, I’ll Call You” Fraud Prevention Rule. If you would like to call the hotel reception because you think there may be problems with your payment card, give them a call. But if someone calls you claiming to be from the reception, don’t believe it.
And the bottom line: the hotel never needs to provide this information over the phone. Check out the full message for more details.
Hotel Guests: Be Aware Of The Front Desk Scam | Work with clients