Smells like a scam but we can't figure out how it works

[TheBeachHouse]

Inquiry for three rooms 17 days. He even called to ask which rooms would be best. He wants to pay the entire amount for 17 days.
On a credit card.
The English in the original email is off a bit and no one wants to pay that much at one time. So what's the deal?
Does he later ask us to refund to a different card?

 

[JerseyBoy]

You might want to ask for a copy of an ID along with the credit card and require him to sign an agreement for the charges including your cancellation policy. If it's not real this will likely scare them off. If they ask for a refund, only do it back to the same card.

 

[EmptyNest]

RUN...don't be so gullible.

 

[Morticia]

A couple of scenarios:

• Refund back to different card, like you said
• Please use some of the money to pay the chauffeur/translator
• Can't stay for the whole time booked, please refund with check as credit card was stolen. (BTW, that is irrelevant, the card companies allow refunds to compromised cards.)
• Please accept receipt of our luggage which is being shipped ahead. Then you're asked to forward luggage when they change their plans. Now you're complicit in shipping contraband.

There are a few more, but I can't come up with them right now.
Or, it's a real rez and we're all paranoid! Did the email or the caller give you full names and ages of all guests, and their relationship to the caller? Scam. Think about it, half the time we don't get the name of the other person in the room, much less their relationship and age.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

RUN...don't be so gullible..

thanks for the help.

 

[TheBeachHouse]

A couple of scenarios:

• Refund back to different card, like you said
• Please use some of the money to pay the chauffeur/translator
• Can't stay for the whole time booked, please refund with check as credit card was stolen. (BTW, that is irrelevant, the card companies allow refunds to compromised cards.)
• Please accept receipt of our luggage which is being shipped ahead. Then you're asked to forward luggage when they change their plans. Now you're complicit in shipping contraband.

There are a few more, but I can't come up with them right now.
Or, it's a real rez and we're all paranoid! Did the email or the caller give you full names and ages of all guests, and their relationship to the caller? Scam. Think about it, half the time we don't get the name of the other person in the room, much less their relationship and age..

Helpful. Thanks. Forward the luggage? Who thinks of this chit?
Guy actually gave DH the cc info in an email. So DH called the MC company to report.

 

[user 26]

My take
Don't even answer
You have online reservations, that is the way for this transaction if it's genuine to go through.
Usually asks for cash refund because he's canceling within the allowed time -- often just canceling PART of the reservation so you think you've still got some of the income and so you refund part of it.
Meanwhile, card is no good or stolen and you are out the money you paid back by the time it gets all sorted out
'Normal' people don't just give out their credit card info in an email

 

[TheBeachHouse]

My take
Don't even answer
You have online reservations, that is the way for this transaction if it's genuine to go through.
Usually asks for cash refund because he's canceling within the allowed time -- often just canceling PART of the reservation so you think you've still got some of the income and so you refund part of it.
Meanwhile, card is no good or stolen and you are out the money you paid back by the time it gets all sorted out
'Normal' people don't just give out their credit card info in an email.

Yeah, that's what we said about the card. Now we have the card number. Crazy.

 

[Generic]

Call the CC company and tell them that you have a credit card number and you want to do a security validation. There are two levels of this security validation, the first level, where they call the bank and the bank simply tells you if the data matches, exactly. The second level is when they let you talk with the bank (usually they stay on the line) and they will tell you what does and what doesn't match and if it's fraud, allow the other bank to act.
As for the guest, remind him that refunds are issued only to the same credit card and that even cancelled cards can receive a credit. You cannot issue a cheque nor issue the credit to another card. But you will gladly call your processor and have them contact the bank directly to process the refund if necessary.
Also, tell them that you cannot, for security reasons, accept parcels or luggage. You are not allowed to sign for other people's parcels and they are simply marked as "Return to Sender" unless the guest is personally there to collect it. Your insurance doesn't cover accepting packages because they may contain illegal good or illicit drugs.
That's usually enough to make them bolt. I use Square's invoicing system when they want to prepay that way. Let Square take responsibility. You don't have the number, they do. And they are responsible for tracking IP security, etc.

 

[JimBoone]

We get similar emails on a regular basis, usually addressed to "undisclosed reciepents" which indicates they are looking for anyone that will bite and respond. Exchanged a few emails with the first one a number of years ago before deciding I didn't want to play the game.

 

[Breakfast Diva]

This is a scam. In another group I'm in an innkeeper just got the exact same request. DELETE!
If it sounds too good to be true, it is!

 

[Arks]

We get similar emails on a regular basis, usually addressed to "undisclosed reciepents" which indicates they are looking for anyone that will bite and respond. Exchanged a few emails with the first one a number of years ago before deciding I didn't want to play the game..

We get similar emails on a regular basis, usually addressed to "undisclosed reciepents"...

I think some of them are getting away from that kind of thing, because innkeepers are catching on to scams. They are making them more personalized, like this one where "He even called to ask which rooms would be best."
I've been getting emails like this too, where they take the time to put in the name of my inn, phone number, etc., rather than the generic ones they used to mass-mail. Or the fake FedEx ones that include my street address and bait me to click a "check tracking info" link.
I think they realize a little more work up front and they can get a lot more people to believe it's real. It's not real.

 

[JimBoone]

We get similar emails on a regular basis, usually addressed to "undisclosed reciepents" which indicates they are looking for anyone that will bite and respond. Exchanged a few emails with the first one a number of years ago before deciding I didn't want to play the game..

We get similar emails on a regular basis, usually addressed to "undisclosed reciepents"...

I think some of them are getting away from that kind of thing, because innkeepers are catching on to scams. They are making them more personalized, like this one where "He even called to ask which rooms would be best."
I've been getting emails like this too, where they take the time to put in the name of my inn, phone number, etc., rather than the generic ones they used to mass-mail. Or the fake FedEx ones that include my street address and bait me to click a "check tracking info" link.
I think they realize a little more work up front and they can get a lot more people to believe it's real. It's not real.
.

Perhaps I'm not fancy enough for them to make the extra effort (I've seen pictures of your place and some of our other members).
I expect our guests to find our rooms clean and attractive at a reasonable price, but several rooms for an extended period is a giveaway that something is fishy as that is not my market.
I have gotten the fake FedEx emails and the postal mail where you receive a yellow page type advertisement that looks like an invoice if you don't read the fine print. I would assume those are aimed at places where someone else checks the mail for the boss and the hope is they just open everything and pass on invoices to be paid.