A Travel Scam Alert

joepistol

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Apr 23, 2020
Messages
1,135
Location
Rochester Hills, Mi
As I was preparing to return from Cancun a few days ago,I received an official looking email from Spirit, titled :" important information Required for your flight"
Had my name, confirmation # for my flight, and official Spirit banner in yellow & black, just like all the email's I got from Spirit when / after booking our flight reservations.
ALL the info was correct..
Had some other notices about vaccination status & then this statement : "important information for your upcoming flight to Detroit, MI."
(followed by this...)
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CANCUN TRAVEL: Please keep in mind the following:
  • All international visitors over age of 15 to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, will be required to pay a tourism tax of 224 pesos (approximately US $11). This tax is not included in your airfare as the tax can only be paid online by credit card. The site will generate a receipt, which must be presented to Cancun airport authorities the day of departure.

I'd heard NOTHING about this, but when I read this, I thought , I'd better do this, so I don't miss my flight.
Then I re-read the statement & started thinking, it says , " tax can only be paid online by credit card." What ???
I wondered.. what if I hadn't seen this email ? What would happen ? Surely I'd be able to pay at the desk, when I check in".. then, started wondering is this a scam ? Thought of calling Spirit Airlines & asking.. then recalled my past attempts to talk with anyone @ Spirit on the phone..how'd I think I'd work , calling from Cancun ?
Decided to NOT pay & went to the airport... didn't ask about the tax, but got my boarding pass & got on plane w/o incident.
As we were preparing to take off, I spoke to the guy sitting beside me & asked if he'd got the email. He said he had, and had paid with his credit card, as instructed. ( By now I realized it WAS a SCAM ! )
Spoke with a flight attendant & asked if she'd heard about this..she had not. I guy sitting across from me said he'd gotten it, & paid by credit card as instructed. When I told him it was a scam & advised he (they) call their credit card company immediately when they land, & freeze the account,
( as the scammers now have their credit card #)

A guy argued, " but it looked real" .. I said that's because it's a scam...someone had to hack Spirit's website , to get your name, email address, flight & confirmation #'s, to send you the email.

I'm thinking I was right, 'cause I got on the plane & no one asked me for my "tax receipt" ... I noticed more than few few people were staring @ me as I described my thoughts.. my thinking they'd been scammed too..(but maybe didn't want to admit it)
BEWARE OF CREATIVE SCAMMERS... & Merry Christmas
 

Bob Lee

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Jul 27, 2018
Messages
2,913
As I was preparing to return from Cancun a few days ago,I received an official looking email from Spirit, titled :" important information Required for your flight"
Had my name, confirmation # for my flight, and official Spirit banner in yellow & black, just like all the email's I got from Spirit when / after booking our flight reservations.
ALL the info was correct..
Had some other notices about vaccination status & then this statement : "important information for your upcoming flight to Detroit, MI."
(followed by this...)
IMPORTANT NOTICE FOR CANCUN TRAVEL: Please keep in mind the following:
  • All international visitors over age of 15 to the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, which includes Cancun, will be required to pay a tourism tax of 224 pesos (approximately US $11). This tax is not included in your airfare as the tax can only be paid online by credit card. The site will generate a receipt, which must be presented to Cancun airport authorities the day of departure.

I'd heard NOTHING about this, but when I read this, I thought , I'd better do this, so I don't miss my flight.
Then I re-read the statement & started thinking, it says , " tax can only be paid online by credit card." What ???
I wondered.. what if I hadn't seen this email ? What would happen ? Surely I'd be able to pay at the desk, when I check in".. then, started wondering is this a scam ? Thought of calling Spirit Airlines & asking.. then recalled my past attempts to talk with anyone @ Spirit on the phone..how'd I think I'd work , calling from Cancun ?
Decided to NOT pay & went to the airport... didn't ask about the tax, but got my boarding pass & got on plane w/o incident.
As we were preparing to take off, I spoke to the guy sitting beside me & asked if he'd got the email. He said he had, and had paid with his credit card, as instructed. ( By now I realized it WAS a SCAM ! )
Spoke with a flight attendant & asked if she'd heard about this..she had not. I guy sitting across from me said he'd gotten it, & paid by credit card as instructed. When I told him it was a scam & advised he (they) call their credit card company immediately when they land, & freeze the account,
( as the scammers now have their credit card #)

A guy argued, " but it looked real" .. I said that's because it's a scam...someone had to hack Spirit's website , to get your name, email address, flight & confirmation #'s, to send you the email.

I'm thinking I was right, 'cause I got on the plane & no one asked me for my "tax receipt" ... I noticed more than few few people were staring @ me as I described my thoughts.. my thinking they'd been scammed too..(but maybe didn't want to admit it)
BEWARE OF CREATIVE SCAMMERS... & Merry Christmas
Rat Bastards EVERYWHERE!!! Glad you didn't get burned.
 

barnetmill

Well-Known Fanatic
Joined
Nov 16, 2022
Messages
207
It is has gotten to point that many emails that I get sent from people that I do business with, I am declining to click on anything. Typically a request for my evaluation of a purchased product or another is to pay for credit reporting service.
For paying I go directly either to their website or call them. Even calling can be dangerous. I once called bestbuy and got rerouted to india. The indians had gotten into the geek service phone service somehow. And best buy does have indians working for them that makes it even more difficult since they could be legit.
 
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