I’ve written in the past about the airline phone number scam — the idea is that scammers try to get you to call them up, making you think that they’re actually a representative of the airline. Then they scam you in one of a variety of ways.
Despite me having warned about this many times before, I fell for it myself. Well, I mean, I dialed up the number, but fortunately some alarms went off in my head pretty quickly, and I ended the call.
I spoke to the reservations desk for all major airlines!
So, I’m trying to call up Air Algerie to select seats for an upcoming itinerary. Air Algerie doesn’t fly to the United States, but it does fly to Canada, so I Googled “Air Algerie phone number Canada” (figuring that would be the call center I could call on my cell without incurring charges).
The “AI Overview” showed me a number — admittedly there should’ve immediately been alarm bells in my head, when I saw the “source” being Instagram, though my eyes were drawn to the number under “Contact & Office Details.”
I dialed up the number, and someone answered after one ring, with no sort of other phone prompt. That surprised me. He also had what I believe was an Indian accent, which I also wouldn’t have necessarily expected for the Air Algerie call center (not that it couldn’t be, but it added another layer of skepticism).
“Thank you for calling the airline ticketing desk, how may I help you?” Yeah, I immediately realized something was off, so I asked “which airline do you work with?” He responded “this is the reservations desk for all major airlines.”
Okay, yeah… *click*. Obviously at this point I knew exactly what was going on. After going back to the source of the number, I felt incredibly stupid for even dialing the number in the first place, especially after seeing the Instagram page. But fortunately I realized what was going on before I shared any personal details.
Side note — does anyone know how to actually get in touch with Air Algerie in English? Whenever I call any of their global call centers (from the official website), I only hear the option to speak in Arabic or French. For that matter, why can’t I select seats online, as that would solve all my issues (I booked through Expedia, but maybe I should’ve just booked direct)?
Don’t make the same mistake that I did!
I’ve written in the past about how these scam call centers try to extort customers. For example, I’ve covered how a man thought he was calling United, but ended up being scammed for $17K. In another case, a similar incident happened with British Airways.
So yeah, always make sure you get an airline phone number directly from an airline website, rather than just from Google. And if you do just dial up a number you saw on another site, listen very carefully when the representative answers. They should identify what airline they work for, and if they claim they’re part of a super generic airline reservations desk, that’s total malarkey, and you should hang up.
Bottom line
Always make sure you get your airline phone numbers directly from airlines. And if you don’t, at least be skeptical when you call, make sure there’s a reputable sounding prompt, have the representative identify the airline they’re working for, etc. (which still isn’t foolproof, but at least avoids the most obvious scams).
As much as I’ve warned others of these risks, I sort of fell for it myself, by calling up an Air Algerie phone number I saw online, which routed me to a general “airline reservations desk.” Fortunately I quickly came to my senses, and hung up.
Has anyone else accidentally dialed up a scam airline phone number?
Imagine all the people actual getting scammed thanks to Google AI overview
Thought you were going full-John-Lennon there... "Imagine all the people...(Scamming) for today... It isn't hard to do... I hope someday you'll join us... And the world will (scam) as one..."
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...
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.
I've had the same multiple times too and also only happens when going through booking.com. I reported the issue with booking to no avail. It's even more tricky as it's not unusual for small hotels in Asia to write directly on Whatsapp. But as soon as links are involved I go through the official Booking messaging.
Guess I'll stop using Booking.com (and agoda too for that matter, thanks @Paul)
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...
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.
No, not 'silly' at all, Paul. More disappointing and shocking than anything else. Wish it were better. Haven't booked with either booking or agoda in a very long time. Back when I had, I agree, quite scam-prone. Interestingly, Citi uses their booking platforms, while Amex/Chase use Expedia. Note the difference...
Amex Canada uses agoda :O
Oh no... Joe... that's not very 'Pro' of you. Glad you'll 'live' but still... yeeeeesh...
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.
The problem is that a lot of companies proactively hide their contact details to avoid customer contact. I was unfortunate enough to have used a phone/internet provider that contracted call centres to the lowest bidders whose staff just couldn't understand, let alone help with, basically anything and there was no way to send them anything in writing other than by post, which elicited responses that had obviously been composed by some rubbish AI which kept...
The problem is that a lot of companies proactively hide their contact details to avoid customer contact. I was unfortunate enough to have used a phone/internet provider that contracted call centres to the lowest bidders whose staff just couldn't understand, let alone help with, basically anything and there was no way to send them anything in writing other than by post, which elicited responses that had obviously been composed by some rubbish AI which kept anchoring itself to random words in my letters and failing to respond to what I'd actually raised. Someone who's getting desperate at their inability to access an important service could easily fall victim to scammers in that sort of scenario.
(I didn't get round to suing them for failing to provide the service which they'd been charging me for, but the statute of limitations here in England allows 6 years so they may get a little surprise from me if I find myself with a few hours to kill.)
Or just hide human representatives behind a wall of options when you call the correct number, which sometimes lead you to an automated message saying "Go on the app/website" then hang up. It can take longer to find a rep than the whole chat to solve the issue.
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
Montreal phone will have bilingue Eng/Fr. Montrealers are the answer to an English/French problem. As soon as they recognize you're American and not English-Canadian, you're good to go.
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*
You could play along by switching to another language and saying that you have an issue with an airline that's native to it (Air Algerie would've been great for a French speaker, but Ben could've said something about Austrian or Lufthansa in German).
Expedia!! “Maybe you should have just booked direct?”
omg please do explain your actions Ben
Disagree, gentlemen. Have probs booked like 7 intra-Europe flights over the years on Expedia and Booking, but they were exclusively one-legs on Ryan or Wizz. When you can book a $65 flight for $61 - hard to pass. I think i saved about 34 bucks, proud of every penny.
My thoughts exactly. I think Ben owes his readers an explanation of why in this case he booked on Expedia. Never have; never will.
+1
Also… don’t get your answers from AI. Or, rather, fact check literally everything AI says before you take any action. If you get scammed because you called a phone number that AI said to call, I think you can guess how much sympathy I’ll have.
Many of us fell for things like this.
For me, 2 years ago I flew TAP, and there was a delay. Two weeks later I got a perfectly legit-looking email telling me that because of the delay, I will get a partial refund. When I clicked on the link, my PC blocked it. I called TAP and the agent said: "Oh Sir, we would NEVER offer you anything like that". At least she was honest. Two days later an email was sent to me from TAP telling me about that particular scam email.
Even when you call an airlines legit number, things can get wonky...Fiji Airways seat selection--that's a hot mess when you book an award ticket (using AAdvantage miles--which Fiji adopted as their FF currency, no less!). Doesn't allow online seat selection, and when you call in to make the selection, they attempt to send you a link by text to pay...nnnnnnope. Oh, the option to pay shows up online/in their app after the call as well,...
Even when you call an airlines legit number, things can get wonky...Fiji Airways seat selection--that's a hot mess when you book an award ticket (using AAdvantage miles--which Fiji adopted as their FF currency, no less!). Doesn't allow online seat selection, and when you call in to make the selection, they attempt to send you a link by text to pay...nnnnnnope. Oh, the option to pay shows up online/in their app after the call as well, but never processes. Not dealing with that BS...looks like I'll roll the dice on being assigned a middle seat in the ass-end of an A350.
(btw, if anyone has any recommendations on how to get past that issue, please post a reply...I'm not in a city where they fly, so I can't just desk-agent it)
Happened to my mom. She called the wrong number she found on-line and things went from there. We didn't lose anything, but needed to cancel a credit card as a result. And thankfully, no one cancelled her flight, as she gave out her PNR. It's maddening how widespread this is.
I went to what I believe to be their official site. They push you to get seat assignments online, through app, or service centers. They offer contact numbers, but none are in North America. There is a UK number. Maybe try the online method first?
Interesting story. The situation is so widespread, that when I needed to speak to United about a seat assignment (app error) they provided me the validated Lufthansa number, thankfully.
The problem is NOT Google, the problem is *AI*. If you Google something and go to the correct (NOT SPONSORED) page, you will be fine.
Even before the AI overview, scammy websites would buy ads or SEO their way to the top of the page, above the official airline / ETA / eVisa websites. Seen so many folks who aren’t super tech literate (or even just in a hurry) getting scammed like this over the years, and clearly Google isn’t all that interested in preventing it.
FWIW, when I flew Air Algerie for 3 different domestic flights, assigned seats did not matter. It was take any available seat regardless of what your ticket said.
This made for some very interesting situations when I tried to get a local to get up because I was assigned to sit next to his wife..**awkward**.
For reference: ALG-GHA, GHA-ALG, and CZL-ALG
Enjoy Algeria, wonderful country, lots of history.
I think of myself as pretty "savvy" but had same thing with Swiss AIR number from a web search. Was pretty far along into changing a ticket when I asked "are you the Swiss reservations dept?" and they answered "are a A reservations dept."
Maybe your issue is that Swissair ceased operations back in 2002??
It could be worse. You could be an FBI agent and just had your personal data hacked at the office.
you can reserve seats on their website. also i just flew alg-yul on the new a330-900 and the business class food is hilariously bad.
I don't trust Google or AI for anything related to phone numbers or email addresses. I take my time to go into the official website of whatever company I need to contact until I find their real information and I type the email or phone number myself and do not click on any links. Better safe than sorry! With AI, it is becoming very difficult to discern between reality and scams which is very concerning.
You haven't seen a fake website yet.
Yes I did. But if I type www.delta.com or www.united.com, etc.... the chances I will get to the real website are much higher. BTW, I always check the entire website address before clicking on anything. Trust me, I have seen so many digital scams that I feel I am a bit above average when to comes to detecting scams.
Call the Montreal office.
+1 514-905-0147.
They should be able to assist you.
says the unregistered guest… ;)
just go on their standard website (https://airalgerie.dz/en/plan-your-trip/booking/contact-center/ and yes, dz is the country code for algeria, in arabic that is El Djazaïr) and you find all kind of contact details including uk with english speaking service
Their website lists a UK number as +44 2045 253188. I’m pretty sure you will receive an option for English there.
Hate to say this nine out of 10 scammers have an Indian voice my last episode" from Chase Bank somebody's go to credit card on my name and they claimed to be the fraud department they sorted very real in the first five minutes the next few minutes later they were extremely very helpful they started with wanting to verify my Social Security number and my home address and I thought wait a minute Chase...
Hate to say this nine out of 10 scammers have an Indian voice my last episode" from Chase Bank somebody's go to credit card on my name and they claimed to be the fraud department they sorted very real in the first five minutes the next few minutes later they were extremely very helpful they started with wanting to verify my Social Security number and my home address and I thought wait a minute Chase has got all that info what is that they were so helpful that they were trying to help me to connect me to the FBI to file a complaint I decided to waste your time I was put on hold with some patriotic music in the background and guess what, I had an Indian FBI agent on the phone. I switched the languages blew his mind had hung up on him. Talk about snakes!
Just the other day I changed an award reservation with Aeroplan. I tried online, in the app, whatever, but it would not let me do it online, which was supposed to be one of the innovations announced around two years ago. So I had to call. After a lengthy wait I spoke with an agent, and after a long search she finally found the new flight, which I could find when searching for it on...
Just the other day I changed an award reservation with Aeroplan. I tried online, in the app, whatever, but it would not let me do it online, which was supposed to be one of the innovations announced around two years ago. So I had to call. After a lengthy wait I spoke with an agent, and after a long search she finally found the new flight, which I could find when searching for it on the Aeroplan site, but which was not one of the choices given when I tried the 'Manage my flight', 'Change reservation' option. Maybe because it was a brand new flight, because pretty much all the seats were available. She told me, that their 'Billing site' would not accept my CC over speaker phone (why?), so I turned off speaker, and could not hear anything anymore, because the volume of the call was ridiculously low to start with. Anyway, somehow we managed. Next day I received a message from AC, asking if I had logged in from Brazil, and I would want to change my PW. Looked a bit weird to me, so I ran it through two phishing detection sites, and they did not find anything unusual. When I tried to use the link in the email to change my PW, all I got was 5 short lines with letters and numbers. So I tried to change my PW after logging in, but it did not let me do it either. All this is a bit weird to me, to be honest.
Thank you AI Overview.
Vietjet Air does not have online seat selection either. You have to send them a message along the lines "hello, I'd like to reserve a seat please". Seriously 🙄🙄
Wait you positive about that? I'm fully certain 3 years ago i booked exact front row seats I wanted. For dirt cheap too.
Nice to see some Americans think Canada is useful.
Yep. BA for me. Was in Italy trying to make a change but it was after regular hours in our time zone. Hubby googled the number for the US. oops. Luckily alarm bells eventually went off but they/we went pretty far down the line. They asked for passport info, then said 'oh you just have to pay X but we will refund you Y (an amount higher) which seemed strange to say the least and...
Yep. BA for me. Was in Italy trying to make a change but it was after regular hours in our time zone. Hubby googled the number for the US. oops. Luckily alarm bells eventually went off but they/we went pretty far down the line. They asked for passport info, then said 'oh you just have to pay X but we will refund you Y (an amount higher) which seemed strange to say the least and then they sent an 'invoice' via email where they wanted you to put in CC info AND upload a photo of your PASSPORT! I checked the mail URL and yep...NOT BA. Luckily we didn't mess up but came pretty close! And I travel A LOT. Shame on me for not catching on sooner. Note to self and to ALL NEVER EVER just google a number these days. Go to the source and double check that it IS the source!
A scam number in Canada? That's telling a lot.
I called their UK number from Canada and was able to talk in English