A Warning to Disney Resort Guests

[gdrj]

Wonder if the caller was hoping to use the credit card number to post bail. Never give important info.

I could be wrong but I don't see a court taking a credit card number off a piece of paper as bail. There are other scams with prisoners ordering stuff online, not shipping it to the prison necessarily or 900 numbers

 

[NikkiEla]

Wow!
Thank you all for sharing this information!
My fiance and I would have probably fallen for the pizza scam!
We tend to order pizza when on vacation at least once for a late night dinner and probably wouldn't have thought twice!
Luckily, we've never had a flyer under our door and have always gotten legit pizza places from the front desk!
We both must be pretty naive since we were both extremely shocked (like jaw-dropped, wide eyed shocked) that this is a legit scam!
This thread probably just saved our Disneymoon in April!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Just FYI for pizza lovers: if you think you'll be in the mood to order pizza while at WDW, I recommend Flippers (it's a Florida chain, and completely legitiimate. The pizza is wood-fired; pretty good quality and reasonably priced.). The number for their closest location to WDW (at Crossroads) is 407-938-9633. The closest location to the Universal Parks is 407-521-0607. Their menus is here: http://www.flipperspizzeria.com/our-menu/

I have these bookmarked and saved on my phone; that way we can call in the order on our way back from the parks.

 

[hisgal2]

This particular scam happens in alot of other places also. I was down in Baton Rouge, LA in May and it happened. Someone in our group got a phone call to his room asking for the credit card info to update the booking. Fortunately, I was with a very large group (about 40 rooms booked) and he was like "I don't pay the bill, so and so pays it". Well, don't you know just 5 minutes later, the leader of our group gets the same phone call?

It is interesting to me, tho, that the person was calling from a prison. Usually an inmate has a list of people that they are allowed to call. If not on the list, there is no call. ...at least, that is how it is in the state prisons here in PA.

 

[DIS_MIKE]

I just wanted to chime in here. This is an ongoing epidemic in the hotel industry and sadly nothing can be done to it. One way hotels are trying to combat this is rather than having a person call saying "Please transfer me to room 201 etc." they ask for last name verification as well. It definitely helps but any hotels and resorts have that line where you just punch in a room number and it automatically dials to the room so no switchboard operator.

It's a difficult situation to deal with. I think having a little common sense goes a long way and the front desk would never call asking for a credit card number. They would kindly ask for the guest to come by the front desk to resolve an issue. It's sad to think that Disney is being targeted. It is the happiest place on earth but scammers are everywhere and Disney has over 25k rooms and it's crazy to think that some scammer is sitting around all day punching in phone numbers and calling random rooms to take advantage of people.

 

[CampbellzSoup]

If I don't speak to you face to face your not getting any credit card information from me at Disney.

I also need to see a cast member identification tag as well.

Thanks everyone for posting helpful information here

 

[meggybear17]

As a family we travel excessively both for business and pleasure and i have never even once thought about the whole sayimg a room number aloud thing! Omg i cant believe that never occurred to me. I even thought it was strange last weekend when a clerk just wrote it down and didnt say it- maybe all the hotels i have been to dont practice this? At any rate i can totally see me and DH walking away from the check in desk and asking the other what room we are in. I am definitely filing this info away especially since i will be traveling alone with my 5 year old DS in a few weeks.

 

[Plaid Princess]

I just wanted to chime in here. This is an ongoing epidemic in the hotel industry and sadly nothing can be done to it. One way hotels are trying to combat this is rather than having a person call saying "Please transfer me to room 201 etc." they ask for last name verification as well. It definitely helps but any hotels and resorts have that line where you just punch in a room number and it automatically dials to the room so no switchboard operator.

Yep! I worked as a hotel operator a for a while, and we were not allowed to connect ANYONE who couldn't confirm the room number and last name. It was an ongoing battle, because we had everything from scammers to angry ex's calling trying to get through.

The problem we encountered, was that you could dial directly from room to room, so we had a few instances of scammers booking a cheap rate and just calling from inside the room until they got what they wanted or got busted.

 

[Jackalina]

Wow. Thanks. Also thanks for the pizza flyer info. Didn't know about that.

 

[LBlovesM&WDW]

When you're falling asleep and the front desk calls, you forget common sense sometimes. Happened to me this weekend while visiting my niece at college. The guy actually sounded exactly like the guy at the front desk and said the computers went down and they lost all info. I admittedly gave some info and then when asked for the cc info, I told him I would come down. He said there was at least a 20-30 minute line, but we went anyway. Yup, no line and the front desk had no clue. Another man came down as well. We had them call the police, so there would be a record of the incident (we just knew someone who was asleep or drunk probably was in their room giving info). Some people really stink!

 

[cattywampus]

Not at a Hotel, but I received a call from a fake IRS agent. I don't owe anything to the IRS and knew it was a scam, but I could see someone that owed taxes getting suckered in. Since it was a voicemail, I filed an online scam report with the call back number the scammer had left.

 

[eliza61]

I don't answer the phone in the room. They'll leave a message if there's an issue. Family would call the cell phone anyway.

not bad advice

 

[eliza61]

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.

wow, they told me my room number at the boardwalk this august. It wasn't loud but she still said it, also the bellhop also ask what room number we're in and repeated it.

I gotta say, it's amazing what things I don't notice that the bad guy makes a point of. whew.

 

[Plaid Princess]

Not at a Hotel, but I received a call from a fake IRS agent. I don't owe anything to the IRS and knew it was a scam, but I could see someone that owed taxes getting suckered in. Since it was a voicemail, I filed an online scam report with the call back number the scammer had left.

Ha ha, I got a similar call... so I signed them up for Cat Facts.

 

[GrandMum]

Last year I was staying at CBR and actually had someone try to open my door. When that didn't work, they put a flyer under the door. I immediately called and got security there asap. Security told me to always take a copy of the flyer to the front desk. Businesses are not allowed to solicit within the resorts. Security takes this very seriously and works with local police. These companies sneak onto the properties.

 

[ParrotBill]

Here's a second for Flippers Pizza... there is also a location on US 192 West in the Rolling Oaks (Target) Plaza - this is closest to the AK resorts area.

If your hotel door gets tried by someone at a WDW hotel - call 911.
If you get flyered - call security immediately so they can try to find them and stop them.

Plaid Princess - LOL @ cat facts. I want an app so I can do this easily.

 

[MakiraMarlena]

Don't ever give your credit card number to anybody who calls you on the phone and asks for it. If you get a call like this, say you will go to the front desk for the transaction. Don't give out that number. If you're traveling with older relatives, make sure you tell them to NEVER give personal or financial information to anyone who calls and asks for it, no matter who they say they represent or what reason they give.

If they say they are from the hotel, talk to the front desk. If they say they are from your bank, call the bank first (don't ask them for the number to call, look it up yourself) and check. Et cetera.

Not at a Hotel, but I received a call from a fake IRS agent. I don't owe anything to the IRS and knew it was a scam, but I could see someone that owed taxes getting suckered in. Since it was a voicemail, I filed an online scam report with the call back number the scammer had left.

This scam is extremely effective with immigrants, who are generally told that if they don't pay up their taxes immediately they will be arrested and deported. They are then asked to use prepaid debit cards or wire transfers (neither of which the IRS would ask for). The targets are so intimidated that they often cough up thousands of dollars.

 

[dfchelbay]

Who at the resort accepted the charges for a collect call from jail before transferring it to her room? I'd be speaking to the manager. Sounds like someone working there is part of the scam

 

[Sue M]

This scam was on a news show, travel tips I think. It's a well known scam and the best thing to do is as above poster said, tell them you'll come right down to the desk!!

 

[Sue M]

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!

It's in Canada too! And I use a Mac.

If I am not busy, I'll keep them on the line as long as possible just to mess with them. It's funny how mad they get at the end of the call! So upset about ME wasting THEIR time when they are the ones who called.

I admit I do it too, lol!! I've got calls saying they're from Microsoft, and went along with them (taking as much yo me as I could) up to a point, where I was supposed to click OK to give them control of my computer Then I asked, you want me to click that??? Just how stupid do you think I am?? Boy did he get mad, lol. Sigh.

I've gotten the Canada Revenue call too! Apparently they were going to arrest me, ha! I think he said- if we font receive payment we'll have no other option but to issue an arrest warrant!