Don’t fall for this room service scam that cost one family $6,000

Hotel room service scam
© Andrii Zastrozhnov | Dreamstime.com

Thanks to platforms like TikTok, it doesn’t take much for a video to go viral. It’s mostly about timing and delivery. Even the most mundane video clips can end up with an audience in the millions.

If you sift through the silly and sometimes even dangerous challenges, you can find some content that proves to be beneficial. One TikTok user posted a viral video that claims to get you to sleep in less than two minutes. Does it work? Tap or click here for our report.

Another helpful TikTok video that recently went viral tells a story about a room service scam that cost a family thousands of dollars. Read on for details on this tricky scam and ways to avoid falling victim.

Here’s the backstory

TikTok user Ali Koca posted a video warning about a hotel room service scam viewed nearly 2 million times as of this writing.

The video opens with an image of a Holiday Inn Express, though the hotel was not named where the incident took place. A family staying at the hotel ordered room service from a menu slipped under their door. The father charged the room service to his debit card.

After an hour of waiting for the food, the father called the front desk to inquire about his order. The receptionist told him that the hotel never received an order from him.

The father logged into his bank account and found that more than $6,000 had been withdrawn since he placed his room service order. It turns out the room service menu the family had ordered from, which was slid under their hotel room door, was a fake.

Don’t fall for this scam

The lesson to take away here is that you should call or visit the front desk to order food from room service. And if you’re using a room service menu, confirm that it’s legitimate with the hotel.

Remember that a hotel shouldn’t request your payment information when you place an order for room service. The bill should be charged to your room.

Whether you’re at a hotel or not, don’t trust any material which could come from thieves. Recent scams such as this involve fake QR codes on parking meters, advertisements, posters, restaurant and bar menus and more.

When you scan a fraudulent QR code, you’re taken to a fake website that will steal your financial information. Be cautious and double-check the URL and site to ensure they’re authentic. Don’t make any payments through a site you found through a QR code.

Tap or click here for more information on QR code scams and how to avoid them.

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Tags: audiences, cleaning products, delivery, TikTok, viral video, warning