Beware of online flight bookings; scammers standing by to steal your money
RICHMOND, Va. (WWBT) - Online scammers are getting more creative when it comes to targeting unassuming consumers, especially when it comes to airline travel.
They are replicating authentic airline websites to trick consumers into thinking they have landed on the correct page.
“They’re buying those ads at the top placement,” President and CEO of the Better Business Bureau Central Virginia Barry Moore said. “And so if I’m going to go to an airline, and I’m typing in and it auto populates, and I see it at the top, my eyes, my mind is telling me that must be it.”
On those copy-cat websites, there will be a customer support phone number that will directs calls straight to the scammers. They are often just one digit different from the airline’s real phone number.
Scammers answer the phone as if they are from the airline, then ask for you name, birthday and other personal information.
If you are calling to change or get a refund for a booking, they will also ask for your booking reference and ticket number.
I tried calling the fake customer support number to JetBlue and a woman from India answered: “We are from JetBlue. We are the consolidated desk to make the changes.”
The scammers rely on you handing them all of your information, so they can access your booking.
The woman on the call pressed me: “Can you find the ticket number because it is asking me for your ticket number over here, ma’am.”
Sometimes they will make changes and even send you an email confirmation, making the transaction appear legitimate.
But there is always an added fee.
This happened to a viewer who said, when he called, the fake agent told him his ticket price had gone up $111 since he looked online minutes earlier.
He questioned it, but gave his credit card info anyway.
He got a new flight itinerary emailed back, but the sender’s address that was not JetBlue.
His bank alerted him to a suspicious charge shortly after.
When he looked closer, that extra $111 was not for JetBlue, but a company called PCM Travels.
There are numerous customer complaints on the Better Business Bureau about PCM Travels, Orbtickets LLC and other sites claiming to be “airline ticketing agencies.”
Moore says you need to slow down to not fall victim. He recommends using credit cards for any online or over-the-phone transactions, so that scammers cannot directly access your bank account.
“No debit card, no PayPal, no Venmo,” Moore said. “You’re playing with fire, but until you get burned, you don’t know.”
“I’ve heard people get ripped off of $10,000, $100,000, over $1 million, couple million dollars in the local area,” Moore added. “It’s eye opening.”
Meantime, the woman on the phone is still trying to convince me: “And you’ll not get any JetBlue agent live. You’ll have to chat with them. To get a live agent, you’ll have to go through the consolidators.”
JetBlue Corporate Communications issued this statement in response:
“JetBlue is committed to providing industry-leading customer service and meeting our customers on the platforms most convenient to serve them. JetBlue offers a variety of ways to reach us for assistance, including telephone support and secure chat. In addition, we monitor and engage with customers who request assistance on Facebook, Instagram, and X (formerly Twitter).
Along with the rest of the industry, we have seen several sites and accounts falsely representing themselves as JetBlue to deceive and defraud customers. JetBlue works with a cyber fraud prevention business partner, our own legal counsel, as well as our customer service leadership to try to identify these and have them removed. Still, new sites, unrelated phone numbers, and social media profiles do pop-up online, so we urge our customers to ensure they are always interacting with verified JetBlue channels, including our official website, JetBlue.com, and verified social media accounts. Legitimate contact methods are on our official website via https://www.jetblue.com/contact-us.”
If you want to report a scam or look up a scam, you can do so on the BBB Scam Tracker.
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