Travelers beware! Do not provide credit card details over the phone unless you know the person! This is a tale that all traveling credit professionals should read and heed:
The scam is simple, yet nefariously effective. The scammer simply calls the front desk of a hotel and asks to be connected to a certain room, often very early in the morning before the guest is even out of bed and thinking clearly. The scammer then identifies himself/herself to the guest as a front desk employee who noticed a problem with the guest’s credit card upon check-in, and needs the information again. There are hundreds of recently reported instances nationwide where, perhaps because groggy or perhaps because it seems like a logical request from what is believed to be a hotel employee, the guest gives the credit card number, security code on the back and expiration date—everything a criminal needs to then make fraudulent purchases on the guest’s account.
In such a situation, it is suggested that such requests be handled face-to-face with the hotel’s front desk staff. It just might unearth a scheme and save you from being another credit card fraud statistic while on business travel.
Courtesy Brian Shappell, CBA, NACM staff writer
