Credit Card Scammers Targeting Walt Disney World Guests By Calling Their Resort Rooms: Signs To Look For

The world is full of crooks and those looking to make a quick buck, even if that means doing it in some illegal form or fashion. Credit card scammers are always attempting to learn the numbers of someone else’s card so they can use it as their own, and they’re constantly looking for new targets. One of the best places to look for a victim is a place with plenty of options and with people in more than 30,000 rooms at any given time. Walt Disney World is a prime target.

Scams are no stranger to those visiting the parks at Walt Disney World in Florida and those at Disneyland in California. This is one that is somewhat new and could end up proving to be much more damaging to those that fall victim to it.

According to Streaming the Magic, one guest named Tiffany Michelle is currently staying at a Walt Disney World Resort and she was almost the victim of a credit card scam.

Tiffany was in her room at one of the hotels when she received a phone call after midnight. The person on the other end of the line advised her they were calling from the front desk of her resort and needed to make sure they had the correct credit card information on file.

Tiffany told them that she would take care of it the next morning at the front desk, and it is a good thing she did.

She was rather irritated that the front desk would call her after midnight and she inquired about that at the front desk as well. Walt Disney World Resort hotels will not ring the phones in the room of any guest after 10:30 p.m. due to not wanting to disturb them at a late hour.

Learning this, Tiffany also found out that no one from the front desk of her resort called her room at all the previous day or night. She said the person who called her said they were calling so late because they had been trying to reach her throughout the day and were unsuccessful in their attempts.

If Disney Resort hotels call the room of a guest, they will leave a voicemail for them. Even if needing to leave a message at a late hour, they will silently ring the room of the guest and leave a voicemail which is indicated by a blinking red light on their phone.

The front desk Cast Members advised Tiffany that this is not the first time this situation has happened in recent weeks.

“He informed me that unfortunately there are people that call in and ask for a certain room number and once they get patched through, they hope to obtain your credit card information.”

Making this matter even more frightening is that the person calling Tiffany seemed to know her check-in date at her Disney hotel.

Tiffany ended up tweeting the official Twitter account of Walt Disney World to see if they knew anything more about the situation or a possible security breach.

@WDWToday Did you guys have a security breach? Had someone call my resort phone at Midnight asking me to update my credit card on file

— Tiffany Michelle (@Tiggertmk) May 31, 2017

Disney suggested that Tiffany stop by the front desk to see if there was an issue, but she assured them that she already did.

Guests really need to be careful in situations like this, and here are a few things to remember when staying at a Walt Disney World Resort or Disneyland Resort hotel.

• Do not give your credit card number or information over the phone.
• Do not order food from flyers left on your car or slid under your door without researching them first. You can also ask the front desk if they are a legitimate company.
• Do not reveal personal information to anyone asking you for it unless you are at the front desk of your resort or a Disney ticket window.
• Do not buy tickets from anyone selling/scalping them and be cautious of buying discounted tickets of any kind from stores or booths outside of Disney property.

Walt Disney World is indeed a place of fun and enjoyment, and some see it as a magical bubble where you can forget about the outside world. In some ways, that is indeed true, but you have to remember that everyone else in the real world is allowed in. Just be careful with who you talk to as there are also those with all kinds of computer programs who know how to get the information they need to scam you and steal your identity, credit card info, and more.

[Featured Image by Danny Cox]