My good friend, Nelson, sent this email warning which he thinks can happen too often, so beware.
You arrive at your hotel and check in at the front desk. When checking
in, you give the front desk your credit card (for all the charges for your
room). You get to your room and settle in.
Someone calls the front desk and asks, for example, Room 620 (which
happens to be your room). Your phone rings in your room. You answer and
the person on the other end says the following, 'This is the front
desk. When checking in, we came across a problem with your charge
card information. Please re-read me your credit card number and verify
the last 3 digits numbers at the reverse side of your charge card.'
Not thinking anything, you might give this person your information, since
the call seems to come from the front desk. But actually, it is a scam of
someone calling from outside the hotel/front desk. They ask for a random
room number. Then, ask you for credit card information and address
information. Sounding so professional, you do think you are talking
to the front desk.
If you ever encounter this problem on your vacation, tell the caller that
you will be down to the front desk to clear up any problems... Then, go
to the front desk and ask if there is a problem. If there is none,
inform the manager of the hotel that someone called to scam you of
your credit card information acting like a front desk employee.
