The author warns readers about airline phone number scams, then almost falls for one himself while trying to reach Air Algerie's Canadian call center.
Imagine all the people actual getting scammed thanks to Google AI overview
Thanks for flagging this will elevate this issue internally.
I fell for my first scam recently. I had booked a hotel direct, and I guess maybe their reservation system might've been compromised (from a lot of what I've read, this happened with booking.com, so maybe the hotel utilizes them?), because I got a text with my reservation details asking me to verify my credit card and allow a couple pre-authorization charges.
Tired both mentally and physically, and having had enough to drink, my guard was completely down and I missed about half a dozen obvious warning signs and forced the transactions through to the tune of $1K. Turned out they were cash advance charges.
Still kicking myself for that, but I cut the trip budget by even more than $1K to make up for it. So I'll live.
Oh no... Joe... that's not very 'Pro' of you. Glad you'll 'live' but still... yeeeeesh...
Yeah, have had these scam messages on whatsapp quoting my booking.com and agoda.com reservations with my name, hotel name, dates of travel etc... So for 1990 who implies it was silly to fall for this, the messages actually quote a lot of legit and correct info... So be VERY careful if you book with booking.com/agoda.com, my worry is that the credit cards I used to book with are also compromised, we'll see. I did speak to their Security team and they said the CCs are not compromised.
What gives them away is the country code and name on the account is NOT the same as the destination hotel.
Always refer to the company’s official website site. Not just airlines. Banks etc. I can’t believe you googled it
It’s like the online scammers who “fall in love” with people, mainly single women, and ask them to send money. It doesn’t matter how much publicity there is, people still do it.
Ben could give a try to their contact center in United Kingdom. +44 2045 253188, or write down to their Canada email contact [email protected] or their Montreal phone number +1 514-905-0147
Good Luck
Oof. Yeah, it should, but it happens. Gotta be vigilant... "answered after one ring" and "no prompt" just some dude ... claiming to be "the reservations desk for all major airlines" Bahaha!! *click*
Expedia!! “Maybe you should have just booked direct?”
omg please do explain your actions Ben