A CLEVER hotel scam has caught a number of travellers out, leaving them as much as £100 out of pocket.
Reddit user Phracza said the incident occurred while staying at a hotel in Colombia.
They explained that despite paying around £240 a night for the hotel, they were also charged an extra £470 for drinks and laundry.
They continued: “A month later they email me out of the blue about a $100 laundry charge they failed to account for.
“The email is from the hotel but I’m wary of ever giving out my credit card details online.”
Another person said it happened to them: ” Don’t be surprised if you receive additional emails claiming a poor maid forgot to add a laundry charge on certain days and if you do not pay the maid will be required to pay the amount.
“I had this happen to me with a stay at a place in Panama.”
They said it was only because they knew the owner of the hotel that they flagged the scam, and was told it was a “common problem”.
Craig Borowski, Customer Services expert at TheCXLead.com, explained that while it was common in Central and South America, scams of this nature could “pop up anywhere”.
He continued: “When checking out of a hotel, even if you’ve paid in advance, ask for a receipt or invoice for your stay and any charges including drinks or meals charged to your room.
“If you later get an email informing you of further charges, you should not respond or agree to pay any additional fees.
“Make sure to keep a close eye on the card you used to book or pay for the hotel in order to spot any rogue charges that might appear.”
But Mr Borowski said the onus was also on hotel staff to warn guests of the scam.
He added: ” Customers are far more vigilant if they’ve been warned about a potential scam than if it catches them by surprise.
“It’s important to remember that a hotel customer’s experience doesn’t end at checkout.”
It’s not the only hotel scam that could catch you out – here are some others.
Fake calls from reception
Another way fraudsters catch guests out is by pretending to call the room from the hotel reception.
The scam starts by them calling reception and asking for your room number and when put through, asking for card details.
To avoid it, guests are advised to decline and to instead go down to reception to pay instead.
Posting images of hotel rooms
Another way holidaymakers put themselves at risk is posting images of their hotel
Trevor Cooke, the online privacy expert at EarthWeb, said you should avoid posting pictures of your room as soon as you get there.
He said: “If you’re staying in a luxurious hotel room, it can be tempting to show it off on social media.
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“However, doing this could reveal your exact location and the duration of your stay, which could leave you vulnerable to stalking or targeted theft.
“You should also never post your room number online, as criminals and other guests could seek to charge things to your room.”
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How to protect yourself from scams
BY keeping these tips in mind, you can avoid getting caught up in a scam:
- Firstly, remember that if something seems too good to be true, it normally is.
- Check brands are “verified” on Facebook and Twitter pages – this means the company will have a blue tick on its profile.
- Look for grammatical and spelling errors; fraudsters are notoriously bad at writing proper English. If you receive a message from a “friend” informing you of a freebie, consider whether it’s written in your friend’s normal style.
- If you’re invited to click on a URL, hover over the link to see the address it will take you to – does it look genuine?
- To be on the really safe side, don’t click on unsolicited links in messages, even if they appear to come from a trusted contact.
- Be careful when opening email attachments too. Fraudsters are increasingly attaching files, usually PDFs or spreadsheets, which contain dangerous malware.
- If you receive a suspicious message then report it to the company, block the sender and delete it.
- If you think you’ve fallen for a scam, report it to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or use its online fraud reporting tool.
