Another travel scam

[abcdefg]

Am leaving on a short trip to Hong Kong tomorrow morning, flights and hotel reserved online. A few minutes ago got an urgent message 短信 on my phone. Here's the text, verbatim:

 

尊敬的游客 (my name) 您好！紧急通知，您将乘的2015年10月18日昆明-深圳航班：CZ (my flight number)，该航班由于飞机机械出现故障已被取消。收到通知请尽快联系克服热线：400-900-054 及时办理改签或退票。（注：本次航班每位可获得延误补偿300元）给您带来不便，我们深感抱歉。（南方航空）

 

I didn't recognize the phone number, so I didn't call it. Instead went to the China Southern website and did on-line check-in plus seat selection. Saw no announcement of changes or trouble there.

 

Then called E-Long, from whom I bought the ticket some days back, and asked about the message and the flight status. All OK, as far as they could tell. Lady I spoke with verified that this number was not theirs nor was it one of China Southern's.

 

One more scam; I hadn't seen this one before. The 骗子 are at it again. Not sure whose system they hacked in order to get my flight information. Pretty slick operators. Not falling for it may be a sign that I've lived in China too long. 

 

Anybody else run into this one? Am guessing that the number is not toll-free; instead, it's one that generates a fee. Or maybe they try to obtain credit card information when somebody calls. Anyone know how it works?

[889]

Or they'll tell you they need your bank card number and pin to process that compensation payment.

[abcdefg]

@889 -- Yes, I wondered about that. The $300 Yuan "inconvenience compensation" payment looks like the bait on the hook.

 

Every day or two I get a message 短信 on my phone here (in Kunming) offering to help me obtain a local gold, silver, or platinum bank credit card with high limits. Not hard to see how that would lead to a request for lots of personal financial information and be subject to abuse. I never respond to those.

 

In fact, I delete them straightaway, along with anything from an unknown number that starts with "您好，本公司。。。" And most things from numbers with a 400 prefix go right into the trash.

 

400 toll-free numbers
400 service is called "主被叫分摊付费业务" (calling party and called party split-paid service), which means the calling party pays for the local access fee and the called party pays the toll (long distance) fee.
Callers have to bear local access charges from their service providers.

http://forum.zonetel.com/zoneforum/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=298

 

I also wondered if last night's message might have been some sort of ingenious combination of a 400 dialing prefix with a 900 scam, such as those popular in the US.

 

Beware of those expensive 1-900 telephone numbers

Those 1-900 numbers are proliferating like crazy, offering a vast array of information, products and services at your fingertips.

A word of caution: Many of these 1-900 numbers are nothing more than scams designed to steal your money. Here's how they work:

1-900 numbers are pay-per-call services. That means that you pay for the call based on the amount of time you stay on the line. Some of these 1-900 services are legitimate. But many are not, and rather than offering an important service or product you may need or want, their sole purpose is to keep you on the phone as long as possible. If you get caught in this trap, it can cost you dearly on your next phone bill.

Charges for 1-900 calls are set by these companies themselves, not by the government or the telephone company. In the hands of unscrupulous telephone solicitors, this is practically a license to steal. Be wary of services that don't tell you exactly how much the call will cost for each minute. Often, these calls have built in delays and automated messages designed to do nothing but extend the duration of the call. Some 1-900 numbers actually put the caller on hold and make you wait for the information.

You will be billed for all of this call time, and it generally will take expensive minutes waiting for the information.

http://www.volusiasheriff.org/900.htm

 

The most annoying thing here is not those fairly-transparent scams, but it is the increasing number of actual phone calls I get that, when answered, play an advertising recording. Have finally learned to check the number before hitting the green, and just reject them. Lots of those come in on 400 numbers.

[eion_padraig]

So any number that starts with 400 in China will have you pay for the long distance part of the call? I've never answered any of those, but it's good to know.

[abcdefg]

Seems that way, Eion_Padraig. My local friends tell me that answering a 400 prefix call will cost me money.

[Lu]

actual phone calls I get that, when answered, play an advertising recording. Have finally learned to check the number before hitting the green, and just reject them. Lots of those come in on 400 numbers.

I don't like to reject unknown numbers outright (I'm curious who it can be), but I have over time learned to pick up and then listen for a few seconds before saying my name. Also good against people who just hang up.

[roddy]

While it's possible they got your details by being hacked, I'd think it's more likely someone at the website you used or the airline is simply selling the information on. Clever scam though, can easily see people falling for it. 

[abcdefg]

#6 -- Lu --

I don't like to reject unknown numbers outright (I'm curious who it can be), but I have over time learned to pick up and then listen for a few seconds before saying my name.

 

I also do that unless the call is from a number with a 400 prefix. Those are invariably something of a commercial nature, often a recorded advertising announcement or solicitation.

[abcdefg]

You can search these on Google or Baidu for more:

 

"航班短信诈骗" -- These deal specifically with airline text messages. Seems many, if not all, domestic airlines are affected. 

 

10月份频发的以“航班取消”为由进行的短信诈骗案至今仍在持续。民航资源网日前整理了10月份网友通过微博公布的此类诈骗遭遇显示，涉及乘客遭遇此类诈骗经历的航空公司在持续增加，其中包括国航、东航、南航、深航、山航、川航、祥鹏...

 

"短信诈骗" -- These are general text message scams. Many sizes and many flavors.

[realmayo]

FYI: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3360803/Teen-makes-110-000-hacking-airline-websites-using-booking-information-defraud-hundreds-customers.html

 

A 19-year-old man made approximately 1.1 million Yuan (£110,000) by hacking into an airline website and using the booking information he stole to defraud hundreds of passengers.

The teen, who has been identified by his surname Zhang, illegally downloaded customer details for 1.6 million bookings, including flight details, names and phone numbers.

Zhang, from Heilongjiang, north-east China, then used the information to successfully defraud hundreds of customers. He has now been arrested by the police.

[abcdefg]

Worrisome. Sounds like he or one of his tribe might have been responsible for what I experienced. Identical modus operandi.

[lips]

This scam was featured on CCTV News not so long ago.