December 2010

It seems like another e-mail scam creeps into an inbox near you on a daily basis. Particular to the lodging industry is a scam typically involving a foreign agent looking to book a number of rooms for an extended period of time for several people. The request is made to pay in advance (with an illegitimate or otherwise unlawful) credit card and a partial refund or transfer to a third party is almost immediately requested.

WH&LA sent out a detailed scam warning to member properties in November 2008, including tips for spotting scam e-mails:

E-mail scams that ask to pay a large sum plus money to “wire” to a third party are almost always scams based in Nigeria or Indonesia. The scammers willingly pre-pay for requested rooms with either a credit card number that was stolen or send a fraudulent cashier’s check from a non-existent bank. Almost immediately after, they make a change to the reservation, such as canceling one of the travelers, shortening the length of stay, etc. They ask you to either wire a refund or issue a cashier’s check for this smaller (but still substantial) amount. While the requests may seem legitimate, the scammer’s payment to you will be worthless and they will have your money.

Precautions to keep in mind:
- If you think an offer received by e-mail is too good to be true, it most likely is.
- If you believe the credit card number provided may be stolen, do not process the card. You may be stuck with chargeback fees from the credit card company when the legitimate cardholder disputes the charge on their stolen credit card.
- Do not place any international calls to the potential scammer. Automatic re-direct services make it possible for these criminals to route calls from what appears to be a UK phone number to anywhere in the world, and you may incur a per-minute fee in addition to the long distance fees on your local telephone bill.

The specific origin of these e-mails is incredibly difficult to determine, and resources are not typically available to attempt to find and prosecute the perpetrators. If you think you may be dealing with an attempt to make a fraudulent reservation, ask the person to fax or email a photocopy of the front and back of their credit card and a copy of a state-issued identification card. Let the person know that their credit card will not be charged in any way until they check in on-site at your property, and that will likely be the last you hear from them.