Coach operators have been warned of a scam email enquiry that could lead to their credit card or bank account details being stolen.
One operator in South East England and another in the North West have received the same enquiry. It seeks a vehicle hire for a party of eight between 14-23 October. No details of locations are given, but various prices and costings are requested.
The hirer claims to be involved in business negotiations and a conference. Their message is vague regarding the size of vehicle(s) required and it includes the mention of a limousine.
An operator that responded had its quote accepted immediately. The operator was then advised that the hirer would make a credit card payment that included both a £2,000 vehicle hire deposit plus a significantly larger sum for the separate services of a translator.
The operator was asked to forward the additional sum to the translator on the hirer’s behalf because the translator “does not have credit card facilities.” The hirer then goes on to say that they “cannot disclose [their] credit card details to more than one person.”
The message from the would-be hirer the details the payment to be made to the translator has the same name attached as the first communication. However, it is from a different email address.
Both coach operators that have contacted routeone have received the same type of enquiry in the past, which proved to be a scam. One of the operators reports that on this occasion, it has been sent the same enquiry multiple further times despite its initial quote having already been accepted.
