New York Travelers! Even You Could Fall For This Scam

If you ever plan to go on vacation in the future beware of this scam that all of us could easily fall for.

One of the things many of us look forward to every year is going on vacation, right? You work almost every day and deserve to be able to enjoy a nice family vacation! You should be able to enjoy your time wherever you decide to go without having to worry about someone scamming you while you stay at a hotel.

Are You Un-scamable?

You might be saying to yourself, "It is impossible to scam me! I'm so aware of scams that there is no way I would fall for anything!" Sound like you, or someone in your family? I consider myself pretty good at picking up on scams and feel confident that I won't fall for any of them. That changed when I came across a warning posted on the Sheriff Alerts Facebook page that as soon as I finished reading it I could definitely see myself easily falling for it.

New York Hotel Scam

The next time you stay at a hotel make sure you don't fall for anything like this,

"You arrive at your hotel and check in with a credit card at the front desk. You get your key and head to the room. All is good! The hotel receives a call and the caller asks for (as an example) room 620 - which happens to be your room. The 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 wrong, since the call seems to come from the front desk you oblige."

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Honestly, I could see myself giving them my information without even thinking about it! That's what they hope for because it's not the hotel calling it's a scammer who's calling from outside the hotel. They called the hotel and asked for a random room number (yours), and when you answered they explain the "problem" and ask for your credit card information. According to police, the callers sound professional and make it sound like you are talking to the front desk.

What to do if This Happens to You

If it does, police say that you should tell the caller that you will come down to the front desk to clear up any problems. Then, go to the front desk and ask if there was a problem. If there isn't one tell them (the manager) that someone just tried to scam you of your credit card information by calling your room and acting like a hotel employee. If you want to take it a step further police say you can also contact the local police department.