Watch Out for This Hotel Scam when You Travel

A scam is a fraudulent scheme used to acquire money by deceiving or misleading a victim.

Although many scams involve emailing the victim these days, the internet is not the only place that scam artists work. Unfortunately, scams are also seen in everyday life. Watch out for this hotel scam when you travel.

If you are like most travelers, after arriving at your hotel and checking in, you give the attendant at the front desk your credit card to use for all expenses that are incurred during your stay. Your credit card number will usually be input into the hotel's computer and you will be given a card key for your room.

Suppose, as you are unpacking and settling into your room, the phone rings and you answer it. The person on the other end of the phone says something like: "This is the front desk. There seems to be a problem with your credit card. We may have incorrectly input the number in our computer. Could you please give me the number again?" You give them the number. "Thank you. Can you also please give me the three digit number on the back of your card?" Again, you give them the number. You hang up the phone, finish unpacking and look forward to a day of sight seeing.

Scam! Although this scenario sounds very believable, it is a scam!

This is how the hotel scam works: When the unsuspecting victim opens the door to their room with their room key, the scam artist is watching, making a note of the room number. He then calls the hotel's phone number and asks for that room number. The phone in the room rings and the victim answers. The scam artist pretends to be the front desk. After hearing about the problem with their credit card number, the victim, thinking they are talking to the front desk, innocently gives the scam artist their credit card number.

If you receive a phone call similar to this one, do not give them your credit card number. Tell the caller, the scam artist, that you will come to the front desk in person to give them your number. When the front desk tells you there is no problem with your credit card, report this hotel scam to the hotel manager.

Watch out for this hotel scam when you travel. In addition, pass on this information to your traveling friends and relatives so they do not become one of the unsuspecting victims of this hotel scam.