BBB Issues Scam Alert

TYLER — The Better Business Bureau Serving Central East Texas has recently been alerted of a scam that is again plaguing local hotels and their guests, in which a scam artist obtains the credit card information of hotel guests over the phone. The calls are typically made in the middle of the night. The caller indicates he or she is a hotel employee and the hotel computer system has crashed. In order to complete the hotel audit, the caller says he or she must have the call recipient’s credit card number. Many times, the caller also offers a discount on the room for the inconvenience. BBB officials say these callers are very convincing, and many hotel guests do fall for this scam. Whether the scam artist is actually a guest in the hotel, or whether the calls are coming from outside the hotel and the scammer has obtained the direct number to each room, has not yet been determined.

Hotel managers are being asked to alert their guests of this scam and remind them not to provide their credit card information over the phone during their stay. The managers are asked to let guests know if there is ever a problem with billing, the hotel staff will handle it at the front desk and not over the phone. To report a fraud or scam, you can call the BBB Hotline: (903) 581-8373.