Marriott International has issued yet another statement warning people of an ongoing phone scam that incorporates the company's branding in an effort to access victims' personal information.
"Marriott International has been made aware of a series of fraudulent telephone calls being made in different parts of the world where the caller offers a complimentary stay at a Marriott hotel to entice the person taking the call to listen to a sales pitch unrelated to Marriott," the company said Wednesday.
"Marriott has not provided any information to the parties involved in these fraudulent calls," Marriott continued. "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."
The scam has been going on for years. Marriott has known about it since at least 2015 and has issued a series of statements warning of the threat in the years since.
Some targeted individuals have even detailed their experiences on various message boards.
"Just wanted to mention that I just hung up the phone in which I received an automated voice message saying 'Congratulations, your phone number has been randomly selected as the winner of a free one-night stay at a five-star Marriott Hotel. For details, press one now,'" a user named dardarjg wrote in a forum post on Marriott Rewards Insiders back in January 2015.
Hanging up and ending the call is always the most effective course of action to take when receiving a suspicious phone call. Afterward, the fraudulent calls can be reported to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC).
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According to the FTC, thousands of people lose money to phone scams every year.
It adds that travel packages are among the most commonly used hooks by scammers. "Free' or 'low cost' vacations can end up costing a bundle in hidden costs," the FTC states on its website. "Some of these vacations never take place, even after you've paid."
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