A Qantas customer lost $600 to scammers before getting his money back after politely calling them and requesting it back.
Paul Stewart received a text message informing him that his Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Sydney last Wednesday had been cancelled.
Mr Stewart was desperate to book a flight home as soon as possible and called the 1800 number provided in the text message.
“I assumed they were Qantas so I gave them my booking reference and my name, and that’s all anyone needs to access someone else’s booking details,” he said.
“They said I could pay a fee and change the flight to the next day or wait in Los Angeles for a few days and do it for free.”
Mr Stewart, who wanted to get home as quickly as possible, gave the scammer his bank details and transferred $600, but within minutes the money was gone.
“They said the right things. They seemed to know details about my reservation,” he said.
Mr. Stewart then began to have a bad feeling that the transaction might not have been legitimate and decided to double check.
Paul Stewart (pictured) was robbed of his money by a hacker after his Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was cancelled on Wednesday.
He contacted Qantas through a different phone number and discovered he had been scammed after being told he should not have been charged a booking fee.
The staff member also told her that Qantas had no record of her phone call with its customer service team in the United States.
The 1800 number provided in the text message was registered in the United States.
Anyone with a US SIM card will be directed to the airline.
Mr Stewart was using an Australian SIM card, which meant he needed to enter the region code (which is +1) to connect to the airline in the US.
Instead, he called the number without the region code, meaning he was calling an Australian number that directed him directly to the scammers.
Mr Stewart posted on Facebook urging Australian travellers to be wary of the scam.
She also said she got her money back from the scammer after speaking to them last week and politely explaining that she shouldn’t have been charged the fee.
“I suspect they simply wanted me to leave and not file any further complaints. It was a good outcome for me,” Stewart wrote.
Mr Stewart used his Australian SIM card to dial the number after receiving a text message saying the airline was sending him new flight details (pictured)
Mr Stewart is urging Australian tourists to beware of the scam and said he got his money back after contacting the scammer and explaining that he should not have been charged the fee (file image)
Daily Mail Australia understands the fraudulent number has been deactivated and Qantas has reported the issue to the Australian Communications and Media Authority.
The scam has also been reported to the ACCC and the airline has reviewed its current communication with customers and is providing support to those affected.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Qantas for further comment.
Customers are advised not to download files sent by scammers impersonating Qantas.
The airline sends customers their booking details via PDF files that allow travelers to download the document directly.
Anyone who believes that their identity or personal information has been compromised is urged to contact IDCARE.
Scams can be reported to Scamwatch.
