What is the Scam???

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TheBeachHouse

TheBeachHouse

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We don't respond to broken English requests for the whole house for long periods, and please to call me for rate.
But why? It smells like a scam but what is the scam?
We also get broken English inquiries for summer jobs. Is that a scam? It looks like it, but maybe I'm paranoid.
 
Summer jobs generally not a scam. But, these are J visas and they either need a place to stay or someone to host them.
Long term stay scam involves getting you to run a stolen credit card for way more money than the rooms will cost and then asking you to send them the extra money so they can rent a car, pay for shipping the luggage, etc.
You send the money, the card is no good, you lose the money you sent and there is no $5000 reservation either.
 
BE PARANOID. Just delete and don't waste your time on any of it. Replying lets people know they have the right email and they sell it to anyone who wants to pay.
 
There is a new one where they ask you to click on a link to get their CC information and it tries to install a trojan so that they can get other people's CC information off your PC.
Then there is the can we send you stuff scam. They send you stuff for their reservation, decide to cancel and have someone else come to pick up the stuff, except it's all bought on fake CC and they need a place to deliver it that can't be traced.... and you are in.
There's the cheque deposit scam. They send you a cheque, ask you to forward a smaller amount to someone else. Of course it can take up to a year for a foreign cheque to clear, but your bank based on your credit will cash it immediately and of course when it bounces, you are out the original amount.
And never send or accept anything "Western Union". It's become the way that scammers get their money. I can name more scams, including the lover in Afghanistan scam, the puppy love scam and even the grandson you don't remember scam.
 
i think my first year i got excited thinking i had a reservation for a week. we did get folks from china, italy, finland, russia to name a few and sometimes the english was confusing, so i wasn't sure. ran the card for the entire stay at time of reservation as requested. no red flags. then about 2 days later received an email that they had to cancel and to please refund. but to please send the money and not reverse the credit card charge because they needed the money back and it would take too long if it was tied up in their credit card account. uh oh. called my bank and they helped me reverse the charge as it was big and i was new to this.
the card apparently did belong to the person charging, but they were charging all over the place in the united states and then requesting cash refunds ... trying to get the refunds before the charges fell through. another day or so and my bank account linked with the charges would have had that payment deducted since it exceeded their limit. if i'd fallen for it, sent them a check and they'd cashed it, i'd have been out about $1250.00 i was hurt and angry because i got these pathetic emails about how they needed the money back and it was linked to their bank account ... and i felt bad. the email account was closed shortly thereafter.
angry_smile.gif

as it was, i think it cost me a bank fee but no more.
as i said, sometimes i did actually get guests from far away and it all was totally legitimate. but NO cash refunds. if they paid by cc, they got a cc reverse charge.
as for those looking for work, yes ... i got inquiries from people trying to secure a summer job on a work visa but i was told i had to provide housing and i was not set up to do that. i don't know if that is true or if i was misinformed. the bigger places in the area always had/have foreign summer help. the only scam i encountered (if you can call it that) was a lovely girl from Georgia (Russia) who quickly switched from wanting a job to wanting to date my son the minute she spotted him. yikers!
 
seashanty said:
i think my first year i got excited thinking i had a reservation for a week. we did get folks from china, italy, finland, russia to name a few and sometimes the english was confusing, so i wasn't sure. ran the card for the entire stay at time of reservation as requested. no red flags. then about 2 days later received an email that they had to cancel and to please refund. but to please send the money and not reverse the credit card charge because they needed the money back and it would take too long if it was tied up in their credit card account. uh oh. called my bank and they helped me reverse the charge as it was big and i was new to this.
the card apparently did belong to the person charging, but they were charging all over the place in the united states and then requesting cash refunds ... trying to get the refunds before the charges fell through. another day or so and my bank account linked with the charges would have had that payment deducted since it exceeded their limit. if i'd fallen for it, sent them a check and they'd cashed it, i'd have been out about $1250.00 i was hurt and angry because i got these pathetic emails about how they needed the money back and it was linked to their bank account ... and i felt bad. the email account was closed shortly thereafter.
angry_smile.gif

as it was, i think it cost me a bank fee but no more.
as i said, sometimes i did actually get guests from far away and it all was totally legitimate. but NO cash refunds. if they paid by cc, they got a cc reverse charge.
as for those looking for work, yes ... i got inquiries from people trying to secure a summer job on a work visa but i was told i had to provide housing and i was not set up to do that. i don't know if that is true or if i was misinformed. the bigger places in the area always had/have foreign summer help. the only scam i encountered (if you can call it that) was a lovely girl from Georgia (Russia) who quickly switched from wanting a job to wanting to date my son the minute she spotted him. yikers!.
Click to expand...
Offtopic: Georgia is not Russia, it is an independent country, which actually got invaded by Russia in 2008.
 
EmptyNest said:
BE PARANOID. Just delete and don't waste your time on any of it. Replying lets people know they have the right email and they sell it to anyone who wants to pay..
Click to expand...
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
 
dumitru said:
seashanty said:
i think my first year i got excited thinking i had a reservation for a week. we did get folks from china, italy, finland, russia to name a few and sometimes the english was confusing, so i wasn't sure. ran the card for the entire stay at time of reservation as requested. no red flags. then about 2 days later received an email that they had to cancel and to please refund. but to please send the money and not reverse the credit card charge because they needed the money back and it would take too long if it was tied up in their credit card account. uh oh. called my bank and they helped me reverse the charge as it was big and i was new to this.
the card apparently did belong to the person charging, but they were charging all over the place in the united states and then requesting cash refunds ... trying to get the refunds before the charges fell through. another day or so and my bank account linked with the charges would have had that payment deducted since it exceeded their limit. if i'd fallen for it, sent them a check and they'd cashed it, i'd have been out about $1250.00 i was hurt and angry because i got these pathetic emails about how they needed the money back and it was linked to their bank account ... and i felt bad. the email account was closed shortly thereafter.
angry_smile.gif

as it was, i think it cost me a bank fee but no more.
as i said, sometimes i did actually get guests from far away and it all was totally legitimate. but NO cash refunds. if they paid by cc, they got a cc reverse charge.
as for those looking for work, yes ... i got inquiries from people trying to secure a summer job on a work visa but i was told i had to provide housing and i was not set up to do that. i don't know if that is true or if i was misinformed. the bigger places in the area always had/have foreign summer help. the only scam i encountered (if you can call it that) was a lovely girl from Georgia (Russia) who quickly switched from wanting a job to wanting to date my son the minute she spotted him. yikers!.
Click to expand...
Offtopic: Georgia is not Russia, it is an independent country, which actually got invaded by Russia in 2008.
.
Click to expand...
okay ... was just trying to explain not Georgia U.S.
dumitru said:
Offtopic: Georgia is not Russia, it is an independent country, which actually got invaded by Russia in 2008.
Click to expand...
 
Silverspoon said:
EmptyNest said:
BE PARANOID. Just delete and don't waste your time on any of it. Replying lets people know they have the right email and they sell it to anyone who wants to pay..
Click to expand...
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
.
Click to expand...
Silverspoon said:
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
Click to expand...
While this could be legit, I still would not provide an individual or unknown business information about my banking account.
This was recently added to my bank's online messages:
"Please be aware of fraudsters who attempt to entice you to engage in unlawful activity such as receiving deposits into your account and wiring funds or cashing a check to wire the funds to others who are unknown to you. Please do not provide your account information or your online banking credentials to anyone."
It went on to say that it could cost (the acct holder) money. And before following through with such requests to contact the bank manager.

Personally this is the time I would either get Square to accept CC's or sign up for a Paypal account. This keeps your account information private.
 
copperhead said:
Silverspoon said:
EmptyNest said:
BE PARANOID. Just delete and don't waste your time on any of it. Replying lets people know they have the right email and they sell it to anyone who wants to pay..
Click to expand...
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
.
Click to expand...
Silverspoon said:
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
Click to expand...
While this could be legit, I still would not provide an individual or unknown business information about my banking account.
This was recently added to my bank's online messages:
"Please be aware of fraudsters who attempt to entice you to engage in unlawful activity such as receiving deposits into your account and wiring funds or cashing a check to wire the funds to others who are unknown to you. Please do not provide your account information or your online banking credentials to anyone."
It went on to say that it could cost (the acct holder) money. And before following through with such requests to contact the bank manager.

Personally this is the time I would either get Square to accept CC's or sign up for a Paypal account. This keeps your account information private.
.
Click to expand...
Back when I had my online book biz I used to allow wire transfers into an account that was strictly for that purpose. No money was kept in the account and it wasn't tied to any other accounts with money in them.
It mostly worked. Except for the time the bank put the money in the wrong account and it took me a month to find it.
The person in Germany who sent the money tried to have it traced from their end but they had the correct info and my bank made the mistake on this end so they couldn't trace it to where it went, only where they sent it.
 
copperhead said:
Silverspoon said:
EmptyNest said:
BE PARANOID. Just delete and don't waste your time on any of it. Replying lets people know they have the right email and they sell it to anyone who wants to pay..
Click to expand...
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
.
Click to expand...
Silverspoon said:
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
Click to expand...
While this could be legit, I still would not provide an individual or unknown business information about my banking account.
This was recently added to my bank's online messages:
"Please be aware of fraudsters who attempt to entice you to engage in unlawful activity such as receiving deposits into your account and wiring funds or cashing a check to wire the funds to others who are unknown to you. Please do not provide your account information or your online banking credentials to anyone."
It went on to say that it could cost (the acct holder) money. And before following through with such requests to contact the bank manager.

Personally this is the time I would either get Square to accept CC's or sign up for a Paypal account. This keeps your account information private.
.
Click to expand...
Can't argue with that. It is not something that I normally do. In fact, I also offered to waive the deposit since we will not be in our high season. I really hesitated to suggest wiring money in but checked with my bank and confirmed with the folks who are running the conference. I would not divulge our banking details normally but this seemed like a risk worth taking. You will surely hear back from me if it comes back to bite me.
confused_smile.gif

 
Don't we give out our bank details every time we write a check?
Also, as I understand it, bank transfers are the standard way to pay for vacation rentals, etc..., in Europe, so it is understandable how someone coming from a European country might want ask if they could pay by that means.
 
Madeleine said:
copperhead said:
Silverspoon said:
EmptyNest said:
BE PARANOID. Just delete and don't waste your time on any of it. Replying lets people know they have the right email and they sell it to anyone who wants to pay..
Click to expand...
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
.
Click to expand...
Silverspoon said:
I just received a broken English e-mail request from Sweden for 9 day reservation at the end of April...an unusual time for that length of stay in this location. But there was a ring of legitimacy to it so I followed up with a few questions and found that this women will be attending a conference in the area and has decided to take some vacation time with it.
In this case, I was glad that I did not just delete the e-mail, which is normally what I would do. Then there is the issue of deposit, since we do not take credit cards. But she will wire funds to our account and pay the balance in cash so I think we have it nailed down.
Click to expand...
While this could be legit, I still would not provide an individual or unknown business information about my banking account.
This was recently added to my bank's online messages:
"Please be aware of fraudsters who attempt to entice you to engage in unlawful activity such as receiving deposits into your account and wiring funds or cashing a check to wire the funds to others who are unknown to you. Please do not provide your account information or your online banking credentials to anyone."
It went on to say that it could cost (the acct holder) money. And before following through with such requests to contact the bank manager.

Personally this is the time I would either get Square to accept CC's or sign up for a Paypal account. This keeps your account information private.
.
Click to expand...
Back when I had my online book biz I used to allow wire transfers into an account that was strictly for that purpose. No money was kept in the account and it wasn't tied to any other accounts with money in them.
It mostly worked. Except for the time the bank put the money in the wrong account and it took me a month to find it.
The person in Germany who sent the money tried to have it traced from their end but they had the correct info and my bank made the mistake on this end so they couldn't trace it to where it went, only where they sent it.
.
Click to expand...
Well this is a rare occurrence for us so will be keeping my fingers crossed. Having a separate account to deal with wire transfers makes a lot of sense. If we get more foreign guests I'll consider that option. Thanks
 
Silver, You don't have to take advice from me, I'm semi new here. But as a traveler, if I tried to make a reservation to a place that only took cash, I would change my mind. You should consider the advantages of taking cards. The bank can set you up. It is really easy, safer and more 'mainstream.'
 
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online..
Click to expand...
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
.
Click to expand...
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
Click to expand...
I have been getting these emails for over 10 years...different typos, none of them ADDRESSED to MY B&B NAME.
That is the first clue. Check the "TO:" second clue, they say "Facility" they say 8 days or more, some 2 or 3 weeks" another clue. Last they ask for a total of how much it will be.
If you are on our website, you see HOW MUCH the room(s) are. If you want to MAKE A RESERVATION, go ahead an MAKE A RESERVATION.
 
Joey Bloggs said:
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online..
Click to expand...
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
.
Click to expand...
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
Click to expand...
I have been getting these emails for over 10 years...different typos, none of them ADDRESSED to MY B&B NAME.
That is the first clue. Check the "TO:" second clue, they say "Facility" they say 8 days or more, some 2 or 3 weeks" another clue. Last they ask for a total of how much it will be.
If you are on our website, you see HOW MUCH the room(s) are. If you want to MAKE A RESERVATION, go ahead an MAKE A RESERVATION.
.
Click to expand...
Joey Bloggs said:
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
Click to expand...
I have been getting these emails for over 10 years...different typos, none of them ADDRESSED to MY B&B NAME.
That is the first clue. Check the "TO:" second clue, they say "Facility" they say 8 days or more, some 2 or 3 weeks" another clue. Last they ask for a total of how much it will be.
If you are on our website, you see HOW MUCH the room(s) are. If you want to MAKE A RESERVATION, go ahead an MAKE A RESERVATION.
Click to expand...
I often feel like the responses I get here assume I am an imbecile. I am not. My question was, do you never get emails - some legit? Do you always ignore them? We instituted on line reservations within weeks of taking over the business. We continue to get emails and phone calls even though we have on line reservations. We do not feel as though we can afford to retort to a caller, "Use your computer." We feel as though good service includes answering questions, whether or not we feel like it at that moment.
I have gotten some real help from this website, but I often feel like the stupid kid. Is it necessary?
 
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online..
Click to expand...
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
.
Click to expand...
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
Click to expand...
I have been getting these emails for over 10 years...different typos, none of them ADDRESSED to MY B&B NAME.
That is the first clue. Check the "TO:" second clue, they say "Facility" they say 8 days or more, some 2 or 3 weeks" another clue. Last they ask for a total of how much it will be.
If you are on our website, you see HOW MUCH the room(s) are. If you want to MAKE A RESERVATION, go ahead an MAKE A RESERVATION.
.
Click to expand...
Joey Bloggs said:
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
Click to expand...
I have been getting these emails for over 10 years...different typos, none of them ADDRESSED to MY B&B NAME.
That is the first clue. Check the "TO:" second clue, they say "Facility" they say 8 days or more, some 2 or 3 weeks" another clue. Last they ask for a total of how much it will be.
If you are on our website, you see HOW MUCH the room(s) are. If you want to MAKE A RESERVATION, go ahead an MAKE A RESERVATION.
Click to expand...
I often feel like the responses I get here assume I am an imbecile. I am not. My question was, do you never get emails - some legit? Do you always ignore them? We instituted on line reservations within weeks of taking over the business. We continue to get emails and phone calls even though we have on line reservations. We do not feel as though we can afford to retort to a caller, "Use your computer." We feel as though good service includes answering questions, whether or not we feel like it at that moment.
I have gotten some real help from this website, but I often feel like the stupid kid. Is it necessary?
.
Click to expand...
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
TheBeachHouse said:
Joey Bloggs said:
If you have online reservations, let them reserve online.
Click to expand...
we do. but we get emails often as well. don't you?
Click to expand...
I have been getting these emails for over 10 years...different typos, none of them ADDRESSED to MY B&B NAME.
That is the first clue. Check the "TO:" second clue, they say "Facility" they say 8 days or more, some 2 or 3 weeks" another clue. Last they ask for a total of how much it will be.
If you are on our website, you see HOW MUCH the room(s) are. If you want to MAKE A RESERVATION, go ahead an MAKE A RESERVATION.
Click to expand...
I often feel like the responses I get here assume I am an imbecile. I am not. My question was, do you never get emails - some legit? Do you always ignore them? We instituted on line reservations within weeks of taking over the business. We continue to get emails and phone calls even though we have on line reservations. We do not feel as though we can afford to retort to a caller, "Use your computer." We feel as though good service includes answering questions, whether or not we feel like it at that moment.
I have gotten some real help from this website, but I often feel like the stupid kid. Is it necessary?
Click to expand...
I was just answering your question. I didn't mean that you are not smart, you asked and I answered. Sorry i answered with a legit answer to a legit problem. I have no idea why or how you took that the wrong way. Really I don't.
I was answering it with CLUES to see how these are SCAMMERS> I shared the important information in my reply that was actually helpful. Not suire why this was taken wrong, as I shared how I tell they are fake and what I do. I thought that was what you were asking me? No?
If you are new to the biz you may not know to check the TO section to see it does not address YOU SPECIFICALLY. This is a clue.
 
TheBeachHouse said:
Silver, You don't have to take advice from me, I'm semi new here. But as a traveler, if I tried to make a reservation to a place that only took cash, I would change my mind. You should consider the advantages of taking cards. The bank can set you up. It is really easy, safer and more 'mainstream.'.
Click to expand...
Yes, I know that and have weighed the pros and cons. Since this is our 25th year running this business and we are small and seasonal, I have opted for one more year of cash/check instead of on-line booking with card. One of the things it does do is to cull the casual traveler who has not taken the time to explore the lodging in the area. We are fortunate to have a unique location and well established reputation both on line and with the local Chambers so those folks who bother to check have assurance that we are on the up and up. Still, I am sure that we lose a lot of business, people like you, who want to pay with plastic.
And before I start a war here on the forum...I am not advocating that others follow my lead. If we were just starting out we surely would go mainstream with on-line booking and credit cards. Or at leas the credit card part. By speaking to each guest we do feel that we are able to "weed" out the guests who are not a good fit and would be happier in another hotel, motel or B+B.
 

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