Hostel/Hotel Email Scam Warning
Front Desk Operations
Hostel/Hotel Scam alert:
(Sent to me via HostelManagement.com :))
Booking Needed From The Manager...
Hello, I will be interested to know if you could assist me in getting an
accomodation for my 4 pax coming over to your country for a holiday. Below
is the details of my booking: Room Type. 4 Standard rooms Check in: 15th
june, 2010 Check out: 25th of june 2010 Number of guest...4 people. Days
of stay...10 days Get back to me on this ASAP,so that we can proceed on
this,also i will like you to know that all payment will be via my secure
credit card and payment made before the arrival of my client via my secure
credit card details. Thanks and kind regards.
Scammer email address: Mr Rick Tom
More accommodation scam examples:
http://www.eastbournehouse.co.uk/Scam%20Bookings.htm
http://www.eastbournehouse.co.uk/scams2.asp
Do you ever get these scam emails at your hostel?
- Comments
14 years
A new scam that came today to our inbox:
Good day,
I am Gary Baxter. A supervisor of wildlife research institute United Kingdom.
I want to book rooms for a group of workers that will be coming from the Sweden. We are 4 in number and will be coming for tourism in your area.
ARRIVAL DATE: 20Th Sept 2010
DEPARTURE DATE: 30TH Sept 2010
DINNER TIME : 7:00 PM EACH DAY
I do not know what the guests might choose for their meals and drinks i will need to have the cost for their entire stay.You can let me know if you do not provide meals. Payment method;Hope you accept credit card as a mode of payment All checks and balances will be made with you on 20th of Sept 2010 which is the final day of the booking.
For more information, please call me to discuss to discuss further as we don't have much time with us.
Thank you for your kind help in advance.
Kind Regards,
Gary Baxter
60, Rumford Rd,
E15 4BZ , London,
United Kingdom.
+447045701499
14 years
A supervisor of wildlife research institute United Kingdom.
Funny how it's extremely vague :)
"supervisor"
"wildlife research institute" (which one?)
It seems like the scammers always use UK phone numbers. I wonder why the UK police don't shut the group down.
14 years
I'd be surprised if they are indeed in the UK, or that you'd get any response from that number or address. I'd think they just use the UK as a fictitious base as it sounds more believable that an eastern European or African country. They also now seem to use British sounding names. But of course make the same give away grammatical errors - "the Sweden"
14 years
I've heard of some people who speak with them on the phone so I think some of the phone numbers are probably live.
I wonder if UK law enforcement could at least shut down the loophole that lets them use UK numbers. They are probably in Africa (based on the IP) but some of the scammers operate in Europe...
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2004/07/05/dutch_419_inside_job/
14 years
The phone number in that email is mentiioned in scam warnings online almost a year ago. If it is indeed a UK number I would be very surprised if trading standards haven't shut it down long ago. It's also possible that they are using a mthod of making a number appear as UK, whilst being in fact overseas. The usual method is to telephone you back after you reply to their email. There certainly are real people in Europe who'll follow up these scams. Especially old people get harrassed in person by people. As a business one of the biggest problems is that if you reply, even if you are doing it for a laugh as you know its a scam, your email address will often go onto a "suckers list". These automated messages are being sent out to possibly thousands or even hundreds of thousands of businesses worldwide. The scammers don't know if they are even going to live addresses. By replying you are confirming that you are indeed a live business and potentially one susceptible to scams.
The other thing is that these 07045 or 07099 are known as personal numbers, that you can have redirected to other services, such as a landline, mobile, premium rate number or even international numbers. Sometimes the scam is just to get you to call the number, and then rack up a huge bill as it's a premium rate 0900 number in actual fact. Having a bar on your business calling any 0900 type number is always a good idea.
14 years
It's also possible that they are using a mthod of making a number appear as UK, whilst being in fact overseas. The usual method is to telephone you back after you reply to their email.
That sounds very possible. Maybe I'll try calling one of the numbers once I get to the UK just to see how they do it...
14 years
A reservationist at my property was just taken in by the exact same scam below. The odd thing is that, after the first two credit cards were declined, she emailed the "guest" asking for a different number. There was a reply with two new credit cards and they both went through! For over $2,600 each!!!
So what I can't figure out is, what's the angle? What benefit/profit does the scammer get? Obviously, he's not coming to stay here, so if these are stolen card numbers, all he's doing is spending somebody else's money, for what, the thrill of being bad? What am I missing??
I usually notice the scams right away, here is a new one I just got, I wonder what happens if I actually process the credit card., I am not going to. But I wonder.
-------- Original Message --------
Subject: Re: Booking payment
Date: Wed, 4 Aug 2010 12:07:52 -0700 (PDT)
From: Mark Smith
To: Adam's InnHello
See Below the payment for the room divide total sum from the both cards
Name : Mark Smith
Card Number **************45 Expiry Date : **/**** Master CardName : Mark Smith
Card Number **************32 Expiry Date : **/**** Master CardMs.Mary Berry
Ms.Dolina Giggs
Mr.Duncan Edward
143 Dulwich Road ,
Herne Hill, London , SE10 9PQ
United KingdomFax : +44-7005-938732
Ph : + 44-7035 927432
Regards
Mark Smith
14 years
We get these a few times a month. At first, I had to teach our non-mative english speaking staff how to pick up on the bullshit, and then we realized; why can't they make a reservation like everyone else?
The staff has figured out how to notice the blatant ones (bad english, asking for hotel accommodations that we obviously can't provide) and with the questionable ones we just direct them to our booking page. That 99% of the time does the trick, and they **** off.
14 years
So what I can't figure out is, what's the angle? What benefit/profit does the scammer get? Obviously, he's not coming to stay here, so if these are stolen card numbers, all he's doing is spending somebody else's money, for what, the thrill of being bad? What am I missing??
He probably is or was planning to cancel and ask for a refund. They will keep pushing it as far as they can go. For example, you could end up "refunding" their $5200 via Westen Union, so they make $5200. Then they might email you as the "general of the Nigerian army" or something ridiculous like that saying they caught the scammer, but you need to pay $1500 more for legal fees (via Western Union) so that the trial can go forward and the scammer can be prosecuted so you can get all your money back... In that scenario, the total earned by the scammers is $6700++
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