Credit Card Phishing stalks the funseekers visiting USA
You better be careful if you are planning to or are presently visiting US. A new scam is reportedly doing the rounds of the tourist circuit that is conning travelers into revealing their confidential information and then stealing their money using this knowledge.
If you are currently on vacation in the US or are planning to go there and visit places like Las Vegas or Disney World in Orlando, be prepared when the phone rings in your hotel room. The call might be aimed at getting your credit card information.
Such fraudsters are hanging around in hotel lobbies listening in to people who are checking in. They might select you as their next victim if you are doing just that and then make a note of your name and room number. After a while they would call your room and tell you that you have become eligible for a special offer from the hotel.
The offer may be free or discounted tickets to amusement parks, casinos, opera houses or a concert. Then they repeat your name and room number. The moment you hear that, chances are you’ll let down your defenses. Now that you are unguarded, they would ask whether you are interested in taking up the offer (who would not be!) and then ask for your credit card number saying that it is required as an identification proof to reserve your tickets. They would arrange for your tickets to be made available at the hotel front desk or at the venue.
Such phone calls are staged with the motive of collecting your credit card number. As soon as the fraudster gets hold of it, he uses it to steal by making transactions online.
The scam would only be discovered when you go up and enquire for the tickets. But, by this time, the scam artist would have taken off with his booty.
This is the new form of a con played out online called phishing. Fraudsters can target anybody for perpetrating this scam. From Investors to University Students to even jobless folks, these conmen show no discrimination or consideration while choosing their victims!
Don’t let them spoil YOUR holiday!
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March 10th, 2008 at 5:15 am