New holiday scam targets tourists in hotel rooms

As travellers in a foreign place, it’s important that we keep our wits about us and be aware that there are people who target tourists.

While we may feel safe in our hotels, there is a new scam targeting tourists while they are tucked away in their rooms.

One anonymous hotel clerk posted his experiences of what it was like to work the graveyard shift at the reception of a hotel.

He said that people would call into the reception and asked to be transferred to a specific room number.

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“An ongoing scam is to get connected to the room and then the caller says they are calling from the front desk and the credit card information has been wiped out, so we need they need their credit card number,” the hotel clerk said on Reddit.

“The scammers call in the middle of the night when the guests are mostly likely to be in their room and sleepy, so they won’t really think about giving out their credit card number.”

Many hotels will be sure to ask of the name of the guest before transferring calls, but not all.

“We ask for the name of the guest in the room. If the caller doesn’t know the name, then we don’t transfer the call and usually they hang up,” the clerk said.

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Another twist to the scam includes someone calling and saying they’re from Expedia. They say that the credit card system is down and that they require the guest’s details so the guest can be charged properly.

Whatever phone call you receive from your hotel reception, at whatever hour of the day, if you are worried about giving your details over the phone be sure to make your way down to the reception to talk to staff directly. Never hand over sensitive information over the phone.