vangorn2000
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It may or may not be a scam, but even if it's not, believe me that it's not a good deal. First, he should never give out his credit card number over the phone no matter what.
Second, even if what he was told is technically on the up-and-up, they likely got his name from one of those "mall contests" you see so much...fill out your name and win the car, etc.
What he will need to do is attend a presentation lasting about 1.5-2 hours where he will be highly pressured by salespeople into buying a timeshare, which he will not be able to afford.
Furthermore, there will be all sorts of restrictions on when he'll be able to use his "free nights."
1) He will not be able to use them on weekends or peak holiday travel times when hotels are typically already booked.
2) He will not be able to use both free nights for a single trip. He will be given two separate coupons for one free night each, which will not both be usable within 30 days of each other.
3) If the hotel is booked for any reason, he will be bumped in lieu of a paying customer.
4) He will not be able to use it at the hotel of his choice at the destination. The company will choose the hotel.
5) A minimum stay will be required in order to use the coupon. He will not be able to stay for just the one free night and then be done with it...he will have to be there probably for a minimum of two or three nights each trip, and will have to pay for the additional nights himself. And of course, during the week, this can be really hard to do.
So, unless he has a vacation already planned to one of the destinations of his choice during a non-peak travel period during a weekday and doesn't care which hotel he stays at, he's better off just ignoring the call. |
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Mandy
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Maybe he should call the visa company and ask them about it. |
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kja63
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It might be true. Have your roommate ask for everything in writing. |
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fredo
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Did they happen to ask him what is card number, bank account or any other personal information? If so it was fake. If it really was Visa then they would have the info and it would be real I suppose. |
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foxgirlyamaha
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It should be ok, normally when you have won something, they call you first then they send out information in the mail, if you friend is having doubts he could ring his credit card company and ask if the customer service person he is talking to know anything about a competition that they where running, if the operator doesn't know about it, it is possibly bogus.
i think he should wait for the written confirmation before he begins packing his bags |
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bdancer222
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If they asked for any personal info, including his credit card number, he should call his credit card company and check. This sounds like a phising scheme. He will probably need to close that account. |
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Core
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It's possible that Visa is doing some sort of contest, though I wouldn't trust someone on the phone claiming to be Visa unless they could answer something about my account that only the company and I would know.
I wouldn't agree to anything until I had the terms and conditions in writing to really make sure it's from Visa and not someone claiming to be them. |
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Rappel_Welch
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Have him call the credit card company back and speak with customer service. Tell him to be sure that it was his credit card company that called him.
Personally, I've used credit cards for 23 years, and I spend a lot of money on my business expense cards, and have never had any one of them; Discover, Visa, Mastercard, Amex, etc. call me and give me anything but a hard time. |
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Pooty Pootwell
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He should just ask for the contest rules. It's very possible that he won a legitimate contest, but he should double-check the rules, just in case. |
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you-asked!
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hmmm, i would call the number on one of his bills to make sure it really is the credit card company. if it is really them, then hey maybe he really is lucky, but i'd bring my credit card just in case |
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Lorry.M
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I could tell you this happen to my friend but 2 weeks after they made him pay the 3 nights he was stay. I was actually half the money and the tax. all I could tell you is that i could but at the same time you should be careful if you don't have to pay it after or if they wont take it from your friends visa card. |
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Cassie
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It sounds legit, but you can't be sure these days. That's one of the many ways people get their money and identities stolen.
So make sure he asks if they are for real, and ask if he can talk to the boss, or head honcho. Just be careful, but it does sound pretty awesome. |
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Heisenberg
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hmm
hopefully he didnt give them any personal information as that's a popular means of getting dirt on people when trying to steal their identity.
in the future, never accept a call from a credit card company. always ask them for their dial back number and then instead call the number on the back of your card and ask them to verify.
now, the good news. yes, it could very well be true. i get stuff from my credit card company all the time - tickets to shows, discounted or free travel, cash back - it all depends on the reward scheme I signed up for or that's associated with the card.
but, like i said, never trust that anyone who calls you is in fact who they say they are. always get a name and a number and compare the number with your records. sometimes all they need from you is a date of birth or a parents maiden name |
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mr.know it all
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call visa directly. I have taken a deal like this before...I was charged about 200.00 on random things when I got there. It wasnt a big deal because the actually room and vacation was probably worth 2000.00 so you get 2000.00 for 200.00 wouldn't you take it?? Just tell your friend to be carefull and get full details from acutally calling Visa directly and asking them to verify that he has won.
Good luck...
A best answer would be awesome....
thanks |
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sofiamarialucia
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It's absolutely too good to be true - how can you win a contest that you haven't entered in? Visa does NOT arbitrarily enroll people in contests. Let me guess - they wanted his card/account information to put in their system so they can get this going, right? I handle fraud disputes, and we see this sort of thing all the time; people call up saying you've won whatever, and they get you to provide them with your card information. They very often call with enough information to truly convince a person that it's legitimate; it's not. Your friend needs to firstly contact his bank to ensure that they have not already begun to put charges on his account and secondly shut down the check card/account he gave the information on to ensure that he doesn't get fraud. |
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tbomb189
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idk. it could be a scam. tell him to call visa himself to make sure its actually them and not some random company/person trying to steal money from him. |
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Megan M
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He should definitely get something in writing from the credit card company. If someone calls over the the phone it could definitely be a scammer. |
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Johny is fat
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Its real, it happened to me. |
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