Win a free night stay at Marriott? Don't fall for this scam


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SALT LAKE CITY — Feeling like you need a little rest and relaxation in the midst of the holiday hustle and bustle? A free night stay at the Marriott probably sounds pretty tempting. But don't take the bait. It's just the latest scam making the rounds in Utah.

"Marriott selected me and I won a free night stay at Marriott Hotels," said Brandon Tholen. "I got probably three calls in three days."

He got several calls last week along with half a dozen of his family and friends. KSL Investigators heard about many others who also got the calls. Sometimes family members even got called simultaneously.

"Today at Thanksgiving we went to my family's and my husband's family's," wrote Brinkley Hansen. "While I was there, every person there, seven to 10 people, received the call as well."

An automated message tells everyone the same thing. Marriott has randomly selected you for a free night stay. The scam seems pretty sophisticated because the number calling you not only spoofs your area code, but also the first three digits of your own phone number, making it appear more legitimate. If you press "1" to get to a real person, that's when the scammer starts phishing for information.

"They asked me what credit card I used when I traveled," said Tholen. "I thought that seemed a little fishy. I asked them why, and they hung up."

"Big red flag, asking for credit card numbers," said Daniel O'Bannon. "I would hang up the phone."

O'Bannon is the director of the Division of Consumer Protection. He says this is an old scam with a new twist.

"People can spoof phone numbers. Businesses can spoof phone numbers," said O'Bannon. "They make it appear as if a phone number is coming from a local number when it's not."

Marriott's Facebook page shows this particular scam has been going around since January. In a statement, the hotel giant says it is aware of fraudulent calls being made in different parts of the world. Marriott also says it has not provided any information to the parties involved.

The best advice if you get the call, do what Tholen did, and just hang up.

"Don't get roped into these schemes and scams," said O'Bannon. "Hang up the phone. Don't answer the phone and call us if you have problems or questions."

Thanks to technology, con artists can pick any phone number they want to copy or spoof and that's what shows up on your caller id. It seems you're getting a call from someone you might know, but in many cases, the call is coming from overseas.

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Debbie Dujanovic

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