Scam Call Hits Local Hotels

By an edhat reader

I just received this email from Hospitality Santa Barbara about a scammer who tried to get money from a local hotel. The notice is below:

Telephone Scam Hits Local Hotel
Make Sure Your Staff Knows How To Respond 

Last night at 1am a local hotel was contacted by a caller posing as a dispatcher for a shipping company. They stated that the hotel manager was on the other line and additional funds were required in order to receive the shipment to the hotel.

The caller told the employee to gather any cash that was available at the front desk or in the manager’s office. They said the delivery van was next door and the shipment would be delivered once the employee had gathered a sufficient amount of cash. They knew the names of the hotel managers and provided delivery tracking numbers and call back numbers in an attempt to lend legitimacy to their claims.

The hotel employee became suspicious and told the caller she would need to call her manager directly to confirm these arrangements. At that point the caller hung up. This was reported to local law enforcement who told the hotel that they had received similar reports from other area businesses.
 
Please inform your employees about this scam and ask them to contact their local law enforcement if similar calls are received.