Trisha Shanks
Arrow Lakes News
Despite what they might say, the Marriott Hotel chain is not currently telephoning people from local Nakusp telephone numbers with the announcement that they have won a free night’s accommodation. A recording tells the recipient to press one for more information and after a brief wait, a live representative then asks qualifying questions. First they want to know if the person is over 30 years of age and next, they want to know if the person has a valid credit card in their name.
Brennen Livingstone received one such call. “The representative explained that I had won a free night at Marriott Hotel and needed a credit card number. I asked him why he’s calling me to scam me. And he hung up.”
Clearly having a method of payment readily available would have enabled the representative to continue, likely asking for enough information to defraud the winner. The prize of a free hotel stay was just a dangling carrot to get the information needed to charge funds to the card.
According to the official Marriott website, a statement was issued in January, 2015, “Marriott has been made aware of a series of fraudulent telephone calls being made in Canada where the caller requests personal information, including credit card information in order for the person answering the call to receive a complimentary stay at a Marriott hotel. This practice, known as “scamming,” typically incorporates a company’s branding and messaging in order to trick someone into providing personal information. If you receive a suspicious telephone call, especially for a contest you did not enter, we urge you not to provide any personal information, especially credit card information. Instead, simply end the phone call.”
Most recipients do just that. The display of a local telephone number may throw some people off — the equivalent of ventriloquism. No thanks to modern technology, if somebody wishes to, they can use computer technology to make phone calls look like they are from any number the fraudster wishes.
The RCMP requests that anyone who has been a victim of this scam should contact their credit card company and report the matter to the RCMP at 1-888-495-8501. More information on telephone scams can be found on the Canadian Telecommunications Commission’s website: www.crtc.gc.ca.
