In an age of email spam, it felt a little strange to find an old fashioned scam letter in my mailbox from US Airlines (aka American Airways). A quick Google search told me that these letters have been mailed out across the country for years.
From what I found online, the letters take one of two forms: a fake travel voucher or a letter stating that you have won two airline tickets. Here’s the text from my letter from American Airways:
I am pleased to inform you that you have qualified for an award of two roundtrip airline tickets. Congratulations. These tickets are valid for travel anywhere in the Continental US from any major international airport. The retail value of this award is up to $1,298.00.
With the rising cost of travel, scams like this can catch the attention of most cash strapped consumers. But with any deal that sounds too good to be true, it usually is.
The offer is from a travel club that ultimately wants to make your wallet a lot lighter. The letters stress a sense of urgency (offer expires soon, have been trying to reach you, etc) which can prompt people into acting quickly without doing research first.
Those who respond to the scam will be invited to attend a 90-minute informational meeting about a travel club in exchange for the “free” tickets. Hard-pressure sales tactics at this meeting often get attendees to shell out large amounts, sometimes in the thousands, to join a travel club that promises amazing vacation discounts.
But simply resisting the 90 minute sales pitch isn’t enough to get you out of this bear trap. When you try to redeem the travel voucher, you will be hit left and right with attempts to up sell. The travel agent booking the flights will ask the person to pay for various service fees or state that traveling on your desired dates will come at an added cost.
The Federal Trade Commission outlines this common scenario: A salesperson for the travel club will request a credit card number to bill an account for the travel package. The “package” will have instructions for making trip reservation requests. Sometimes another fee is then required. Offers then can require a pay upgrade cost to receive the actual destination, accommodations, cruises or dates promised. Then can come requests for payment of port charges, hotel taxes and, of course, service fees.
There are a few easy ways to weed out these types of scams:
- Be skeptical of any super low-priced “great deal” offers. Most legitimate businesses can’t afford to give things away or greatly undercut their competitors’ prices.
- Legitimate companies don’t require you to make snap decisions. Good offers today will be good offers tomorrow. Don’t be pressured.
- Ask lots of detailed questions. What specifically does the price cover? What additional charges are involved? What are the names of the hotel, airline, airport and restaurants in your package deal? Contact those places and verify the arrangements with them. What are the cancellation and refund policies? Can’t get a straight answer from the salesperson? Hang up and forget about it.
The US Airlines and American Airways scam is just one example, but there are hundreds of thousands of these types of offers out there. It can be easy to fall prey for something like this when you’re planning a vacation on a tight budget. But if you do your research ahead of time, you can avoid the con artists and find some legitimately great deals out there.
Image via The Unemployed Mom
My daughter was so excited… ..just got mine in the mail 2hr ago; ‘if it sounds too good to be true, it is! Mine is from Renee Cast $1,398
Well looks like Jacklyn Paul, VP is a very busy lady indeed!!
She just sent me my final notice worth $1298 from 866-481-2524. Didn’t ‘sniff’ right & decided to google the number before throwing it in the garbage. You know what they say about stuff that seems too good to be true? LOL
Yep, I got mine today with a NOTE saying: You must respond no later than October 1st, 2012. 1298.00 from Jacklyn Paul. Will someone please recommend where we can send these letters, the Postmaster General, the Attorney General…who? I want to do my part to bring this scumbag down, before he bags a victim.
I got a letter too from Jacklyn Paul, VP of US Airlines !!! What a scam. I have no intention of calling that number. Thank you so much for starting this blog1 Cheers.
Got a letter like this today in Provo Utah. It was post marked from Phoenix, AZ.
the phone number given to call was 1-866-461-9370
The letterhead says “TravelDeals” and does not mention a specific airlines. The vice president that signed the letter is “Elise Tiyo”
amount claimed won was $1,398.00
I knew it was a scam when the letterhead said US Airline (instead of American Airways or American Airlines), but I actually called them just to find out additional details. They told me that I could pick up my airline tickets at a nearby place (Gurnee, IL). Just to play along I let them setup the appointment. I thought they would ask me for a credit card at that point, but they didn’t. they asked that I take my credit card to the 90 meeting and I was promised the credit card would not leave my hand unless I decided to buy their travel products. They gave meanother phone number (866-213-2799) to make any appointment changes.
I never made it to the appointment – I never had the intention. I only wanted to see at what point they wanted the credit card.
I knew it was a fake, just like the pretend Airlines! My letter was very simalur to all the others mainly the envelope and writing/ and wording, but of course different Vice President Name (Jacklyn Paul) and phone # 1-866-384-4894.
Too funny! Do they really think everyone is an idiot? I received my “check” in the mail today, no letter, signed by Renee Cast, not hand written either. Apparently I am not worthy… So tempted to call to beat them at their own game, but really not worth my time. I also have to chuckle at their claim that flights fill quickly. I bet they do, can’t really seat anyone on an imaginary airplane!
I received the same scam letter yesterday. Signed by Renee Cast the check was for $1400, only gives a telephone number to call back, no address. States in the memo “Must be redeemed for travel certificate. I hate getting these kinds of trash mail. SCAM all the way around!
I received then same letter, Renee Cast. We all need to contact the US Postal Service and report mail fraud for they can track these criminals down and take action. Good Luck everyone.
I just received one from VP Sharon Dole. Hand written with no return address. The post mark is from Phoenix, AZ. And the number is 1-866-955-6144. My ticket amount is $1298. This really is a shame. Im planning my vacation and I knew I was not going to get anything free, but I was going to attend the meeting in hopes I would get some sort of travel agency discount, T-shirt of coffee mug.
Similar story to the rest presented here. That said… has anyone sat through the sales pitch, resisted the “high pressure” sales crap, refused to provide a credit card # or otherwise, has stuck to their guns by repeating “no” every step along the way… and ended up with the “free” tickets? I’ve read a lot about the scam, the pitch, etc. etc. My question is, has anyone played along, refused all the sales crap and left 90 minutes later with 2 tickets?
From what I’ve read on other sites, getting the ticket voucher isn’t the problem. The real issue comes when you try to redeem it. The standard line is to deny your requested travel dates, but to offer it for an upgrade fee. By the time you’re done with the upgrades, your free trip ends up costing you a mortgage payment.
Got “Award Notification” yesterday – same language, same fraud.