Telephone Fraudsters

15 July 2008

Between 7 and 9 July several Christchurch hotels have been contacted by telephone callers attempting to be put through to rooms without knowing the names of the occupants.

On the first occasion the occupant was told by the caller that it was the front desk calling and they wished to confirm credit card details. The details were supplied and the call then terminated. The occupant became concerned, contacted the front desk, and confirmed it was not them. The credit card was then cancelled and no loss sustained.

Since then Christchurch Police are aware that the callers have rung other hotels, including one in Auckland, attempting the same scam.

Sergeant Graham Duncan,Christchurch Police, says he has been told that descriptions of the callers' voices vary from an Asian sounding male, to a female with an American accent.

"The local hotels have circulated this scam through their network and policies are now in place to screen such calls from their patrons," he says. "If the caller cannot name the room occupant they don't get put through."

ENDS

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