A Qantas customer lost $600 to scammers before the money was returned to him after he politely called them and asked for 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 phoned the 1800 number that had been 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 anyone else’s booking details,’ he said.
‘They said I can either pay a fee and the flight will be changed to the next day, or wait in LA for a few days and have it done for free.’
Mr Stewart, who wanted to get back home as soon as possible, gave the scammer his bank details and transferred $600, but within minutes the money was gone.
‘They were saying the right things. They seemed to know details about my booking,’ he said.
Mr Stewart then began to get a sinking feeling the transaction might not have been legitimate and decided to double check.
Paul Stewart (pictured) had his money swiped by the hacker after his Qantas flight from Los Angeles to Sydney was cancelled last Wednesday
He contacted Qantas through a different phone number and discovered he was scammed after he was told he shouldn’t have been charged a booking fee.
The staff member also told him Qantas didn’t have a record of his phone call with its customer service team in the US.
The 1800 number that was provided in the text message was registered to the United States.
Anyone with a US sim would be directed to the airline.
Mr Stewart was using an Australian sim, which meant he needed to put in 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 straight to the scammers.
Mr Stewart posted a warning on Facebook urging Aussie travellers to be aware of the scam.
He also said he got his money back from the scammers after he spoke to them last week and politely explained he should not have been charged the fee.
‘I suspect they just wanted me to go away and not make any further complaints. A good outcome for me,’ Mr Stewart wrote.
Mr Stewart used his Australian sim card to dial the number after he received a text message claiming that the airline was going to send him new flight details (pictured)
Mr Stewart urge Aussie tourists to be aware of the scam and said he got his money back after he contacted the scammer and explained he should not have been charged the fee (stock 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 revised their ongoing communication with customers and is providing support to those affected.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Qantas for further comment.
Customers are advised not to download files sent from scammers impersonating Qantas.
The airline sends customers their booking details through PDF files that allows travellers to download the document directly.
Anyone who believes their identity and personal information has been compromised has been urged to contact IDCARE.
Scams can be reported to Scamwatch.
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