A Warning to Disney Resort Guests

[Senddeal]

Thanks for the heads up.. This is good to know.

 

[andee515]

This happened to us at a Hampton Inn, in Colorado Springs. We got a phone call early in the am when we were still asleep, so your a little off kilter and not thinking your best. They said something to the effect, that the computer had crashed and they had lost guest details, that they needed our credit card information. i almost got my wallet to get my card, when I realized how stupid I was being... I said i'll come down to front desk and give it to you, they insisted it wasnt necessary, but I said i would come down anyway. i got dressed and went downstairs and of course they had no idea what I was talking about. what was strange, was they knew my name...as we were talking it out, I think they came to the conclusion, it was one of their employees, but I wasn't around to see the end...

 

[soniam]

This is why I don't like to do things over the phone. I much prefer to do them online. Plus, I don't have to talk to anyone either. Granted, online stuff is not 100% secure either, but it's a little more difficult than an employee writing down the CC number that you are giving them over the phone.

 

[Grace W]

That is awful. I hope you reported it to the front desk so they were aware!

 

[emilyindisney]

It's scary to hear what people think up these days! Glad your cousin didn't give out her info!

 

[ZoZo]

I know there are definitely naive people out there that might give out their credit card info without thinking twice! Just today, I was in a fast food restaurant. I was quietly reading, there were only a few people in the seating area. All of a sudden, a woman's voice started reading off what was clearly a credit card number. I looked up, and saw a woman talking on her cell phone. She very clearly (and loudly) stated all 16 digits of the card, the expiration date, the CVV code on the back, and the name on the card (and even spelled the last name!). I wanted to go over and warn her that it wasn't a good idea to do this in a public place - she was lucky I was the only person nearby who heard her. But I figured she wouldn't appreciate my unsolicited advice! It's quite naive to think that there aren't already enough "bad guys" out there to deliberately try to get your information -- and here she was, basically giving it away for free!

 

[chicagogrl]

I get enough calls at home. Too bad they call the resorts. Thanks for the warning!

I wonder how they get through?

 

[afyoung]

I recently read about this. Think of how many people are in the lobby when you check in. All of those people are regular people on vacation just like you, right? No, some of them are people waiting around to hear what your name is and what room number you are in to perpetuate this scam. All it takes is one guy in the lobby listening to names and room numbers texting this info back to his buddy who then calls the hotel, gets transferred to your room from the front desk, giving the apeparance of a call from the front desk. You just lugged three kids and half a dozen suitcases to the room and now the front desk says something is wrong with your card. Normally, they would need you to come back to the lobby, but they are sure you are ready to hit the pool, parks, lunch buffet, etc. so if you will just repeat the card information to them over the phone it can be easily handled. Sounds great right? Just keep in mind the hotel would require you to come back with the card. Or, you can even tell them to give you a bit and you will call them back....just don't give information right then on that call. I hadn't heard about the pizza scams though. That is scary becasue we almost always order a pizza when we arrive late in the day. I will make sure to only call the front desk from now on to find out about pizza reccomendations.

 

[freediverdude]

With the pizza things, the giveaway is usually on the flyer there won't be an address or anything. The only contact info is a phone number. If you weren't specifically looking for an address, and who would on a pizza flyer, you wouldn't notice that there's no real storefront info for this business.

 

[POOHsie]

I recently read about this. Think of how many people are in the lobby when you check in. All of those people are regular people on vacation just like you, right? No, some of them are people waiting around to hear what your name is and what room number you are in to perpetuate this scam. All it takes is one guy in the lobby listening to names and room numbers texting this info back to his buddy who then calls the hotel, gets transferred to your room from the front desk, giving the appearance of a call from the front desk. You just lugged three kids and half a dozen suitcases to the room and now the front desk says something is wrong with your card. Normally, they would need you to come back to the lobby, but they are sure you are ready to hit the pool, parks, lunch buffet, etc. so if you will just repeat the card information to them over the phone it can be easily handled. Sounds great right? Just keep in mind the hotel would require you to come back with the card. Or, you can even tell them to give you a bit and you will call them back....just don't give information right then on that call. I hadn't heard about the pizza scams though. That is scary because we almost always order a pizza when we arrive late in the day. I will make sure to only call the front desk from now on to find out about pizza recommendations.

In my travel experience, the check-in clerk gives us the room card in a little folder with the room number written on it. Never does the clerk say out loud what that room number is. Maybe this is for the concern you posted.

Pizza scams at Disney haven't been discussed much the last year or so on DisBoards. Maybe that means they've decreased... we can hope. But, at a Disney resort, I wouldn't call the front desk. You'll actually speak with someone in a call center in "Timbuktu." If you have a front desk issue or question, go down there and ask in person. I've read here that some Disney lobby staff have fliers for good, reliable local pizza places.

 

[Dean Marino]

Hi all,

I'm at the Polynesian now and someone called my cousin in her room pretending to be the front desk and attempting to get her to divulge her credit card number. The only thing that stopped her was that she heard a recording say it was from a jail in the middle of the conversation so she hung up. I just wanted to make other people aware.

I'm probably late.... a good warning, but be aware that this is a fairly old scam, affecting every hotel in the US . And it's easily prevented...

Here is the rule: NEVER give CC, or other personal info over the phone, unless YOU initiate the call. NEVER ask for a call back number - look it up.

That would apply to - hotels, the police, the fbi, the irs, any county, city, state, federal agency.... really? ANYONE.

 

[jerseygal]

Heard this just recently also. THANKS for posting so everyone is aware! There are SO MANY SCAMS out there!

 

[nkereina]

On a similar note, in recent visits to AKL , upon returning from the parks we found pizza menus under our door in the room. We were also warned that this too is a scam. It is not a pizzeria at all, but a scam to get your credit card number when you think you are ordering a pizza! It's a shame how many victims they must get, under the guise of a cheap meal at Disney.

There's some pizza scammers that will actually deliver a pizza to curb suspicions, but its just a frozen pizza heated up and thrown in a box. Any reputable pizza chain in the area knows they are not permitted to slide flyers under the door or even deliver directly to the room, so disregard ANY flyer you may get under your door!

 

[MrToadfan]

Thanks for the heads-up. Glad she was able to hang-up and report it before divulging any information.

 

[Jon84]

Theres a scam in the UK at the moment where someone phones from 'IT Support' calling about the 'Windows 8 issue' you've been having, they wanna take your card number to fix your PC remotely..

They just couldn't understand that I was using an Apple Macbook!

 

[Dean Marino]

Theres a scam in the UK at the moment where someone phones from 'IT Support' calling about the 'Windows 8 issue' you've been having, they wanna take your card number to fix your PC remotely..

They just couldn't understand that I was using an Apple Macbook!

Hillarious .

The "We are calling from Windows Support" scam has been around (in the US) for quite a while . I got one about 2 weeks ago - and crushed the poor scammers soul by laughing at him, and telling him to come up with a better scam .

 

[LetsTalkWDW]

I'm probably late.... a good warning, but be aware that this is a fairly old scam, affecting every hotel in the US . And it's easily prevented...

Here is the rule: NEVER give CC, or other personal info over the phone, unless YOU initiate the call. NEVER ask for a call back number - look it up.

That would apply to - hotels, the police, the fbi, the irs, any county, city, state, federal agency.... really? ANYONE.

If it's the Pizza Menu scam, then you are initiating the call, so as a caveat, always pay cash for pizza

 

[brooke789]

I work in a very small hotel (not related to Disney or even in the same state)....we've had this scam going on at our hotel for a couple years. For quite a while we had signs about it at the front desk and in the elevator waiting areas. When you call in you get an automated system where you can dial to a room by the room number. So, basically scammers call the toll free number and select the room number they want to call. There is no interaction with an employee whatsoever.
The general rule of thumb is that NO HOTEL is going to call your room and ask for any information like that. If they call your room just say "I'll come by the front desk".

 

[kaytieeldr]

No, some of them are people waiting around to hear what your name is and what room number you are in

Which hotels still do this? Most times the desk agent writes down the room number. It's been a personal-safety precaution for years.

 

[Disnsyncey]

I recently read about this. Think of how many people are in the lobby when you check in. All of those people are regular people on vacation just like you, right? No, some of them are people waiting around to hear what your name is and what room number you are in to perpetuate this scam. All it takes is one guy in the lobby listening to names and room numbers texting this info back to his buddy who then calls the hotel, gets transferred to your room from the front desk, giving the apeparance of a call from the front desk. You just lugged three kids and half a dozen suitcases to the room and now the front desk says something is wrong with your card. Normally, they would need you to come back to the lobby, but they are sure you are ready to hit the pool, parks, lunch buffet, etc. so if you will just repeat the card information to them over the phone it can be easily handled. Sounds great right? Just keep in mind the hotel would require you to come back with the card. Or, you can even tell them to give you a bit and you will call them back....just don't give information right then on that call. I hadn't heard about the pizza scams though. That is scary becasue we almost always order a pizza when we arrive late in the day. I will make sure to only call the front desk from now on to find out about pizza reccomendations.

yup, that's why hotels write down your room number and tell you what floor you are on.....

but I always think of White Collar and what Neal Caffrey could pull off....