In the age of technology, scams are happening more and more every day, resulting in unsuspecting victims losing thousands. In a report by ABC News, Dan Smoker reveals he was scammed $17k after trying to rebook a flight on United Airlines, which led an employee to unknowingly send him directly to a scammer.
Back in May, Smoker tried to rebook a flight for himself and his family after a mechanical issue cancelled it. While contacting a United Airlines agent and explaining his situation, the agent transferred him to a German carrier to rebook a flight with Lufthansa.
Smoker was transferred to a man named “David,” who ultimately told him that he would be unable to change the booking, and instead could pay for a new booking right away. David also said Smoker would be refunded for the new flight on a later date.
After being put on hold, David ended up rebooking Smoker and his family on a flight to London from Denver with a stop in Newark. Believing David had called United and worked with them on the new proposed flight, Smoker paid $17k through a link David provided.
At the time, Smoker didn’t realize the link David provided was different from the previous URLs United Airlines had used in the past. David told Smoker he would be refunded within one billing cycle and given an email receipt of the transaction. A month later, the refund was not issued, and Smoker called David directly, who said he needed 24 hours to look into the issue.
Smoker never heard back from David, and the number was blocked. He soon realized the email address sent to him with the receipt didn’t match United Airlines. When contacting the airline company about the scam, they initially believed Stomer called the wrong number.
“I know it. I know I called the right number,” explained Smoker. “Because it’s one thing to call, call the wrong number entirely and get scammed. It’s another thing to call a trusted source, or what you think is a trusted source, and get scammed. And if it’s happened to me, I can pretty much guarantee it’s happened to other people.”
In terms of the employee who originally helped Smoker, a spokeswoman said, “The customer was transferred to an external number and the agent was not using our internal tools to validate the number.”
“We’ve been in direct contact with the customer to understand what happened in this case, and we are investigating this matter thoroughly. We’re committed to finding a fair resolution for him,” commented the airline.
Smoker has yet to be refunded the $17k and has disputed the charge with American Express.
