Bed and Breakfast Scam, any idea what this is ?

By joining our community you will have the ability to post topics and access other forums reserved for members. Registration is quick, simple and absolutely free. Join our community today by clicking here.

Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 10:51 am

Hi All,

We run a B&B and since putting our email on websites we regularly get email bookings like the one below. If seems far to general looking to be someone booking a B&B but i would like to know if its a recognised scam....if so, i feel like "fishing"

heres the text:

Dear Owner,
Kindly confirm availability and total cost for the dates stated below for 2
guest on a leisure trip from the UK.I am SEAN SCARTER of WORLD MOVER
ACCOMMODATION & TRAVEL AGENCY , LONDON,UNITED KINGDOM.

Arrival Date:14th July,2007

Departure Date:28th July,2007

Number of Guest:2 pax

Room Type:Standard Single Rooms

Number Of Rooms:2

Length of Stay:2 weeks

Please advise availabilty.Moreover , what is the TOTAL COST in EURO,USD or
GBP for the entire period?The total cost however should reflect government
taxes.

As our policy,my agency will pay a 100% deposit for this booking via credit
card once availability and total cost is confirmed by you.Is this ok?

Your prompt response will be appreciated and hoping that we could partner in
the hospitality business.
Regards,
Sean.

Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 11:23 am

OK, so i've had it confirmed by our tourist office that these are common, and fake.

Any thoughts are what they are trying to achieve ?

Not quite a Newb Joined: 14 Jul 2005 Posts: 41

It's a payment scam with a stolen credit card- you would be asked to wire back either all or part of the money deposited as payment, then get stuck with the chargeback when the owner of the card disputed the charge.

Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 12:00 pm

excellent, thankyou.

I think i'll take the booking, ( without payment - back out at that point ) but from another account so they don't know its me.

Of course as they are overseas visitors, i'll need passport, forwarding addresses, proof of id etc...all asked for a week apart.

Posted: Wed Feb 28, 2007 2:07 pm

Wibble good for you for checking it out.

Sometime ago I followed a "Hotel Booking Scam" as far as I could, and it turned into a Fake Check Scam.

The scammers agent suddenly had problems with making a credit/charge card payment, so the agent would sent me a company check.

I was to receive the check and send the overpayment (by Western Onion) to one of his staff, who was travelling from somewhere else .... you can guess the rest.

Master Baiter Joined: 05 Jul 2005 Posts: 166

But can't you hold out for card details - then provide the card company with the fact that this card maybe stolen [so they can check other transactions]

Also with the email being tracked & maybe the guys arrested.

Posted: Sat Mar 03, 2007 4:41 pm

could this also be an attempt to get your company's credit card 'address". in other words to use for future scams,get your firms ID" used on the transaction form for payment, so that it could be used to cover or fake transactions in the future?

Hello I'm New here! Joined: 07 Mar 2007 Posts: 1

This is as mentioned an overpayment scam, they usually offer to pay with credit card (stolen) or check/cheque (fake). The bookings are often for off season dates and usually quite a large party or for a long time and are willing to pay whatever price quoted. The problem is banks are obliged to honor checks/cheques and the amount will be credited to your account until a week or so later when the check/cheque is revealed to be fake and the money magically disappears. During this time the scammer will get in touch with some crappy excuse somebody died, sick, etc. and will ask for money minus a hefty deposit to be sent via Western Union (surprise, surprise). So at the end of it all you will be out of pocket whatever sent to the scumbag and nothing in the bank to show for it.

I have some self catering properties and i get these types almost daily( I really can't stand these people), at the beginning I replied to them but fortunately never actually fell for any. After a while you just spot them a mile off. This is a good site with a lot of the inquiry letters http://www.bbexpo.com/scams2006.asp they generally just rehash the letters somewhat.

The best advice I can give if you're a bit unsure of what to do with them is to say you can't give refunds but offer them credit to stay with you again in the future, chances are you will never see or hear from them again.

Hope that helps. Very Happy

Bed and Breakfast Scam, any idea what this is ?	View next topic View previous topic