"You won AA round trip tickets for two" - Scam or real deal?
May 10, 2013, 8:13 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5
"You won AA round trip tickets for two" - Scam or real deal?
I just got a letter from "Joy Cass, VP of American" telling me they have tried to contact me about an award of two rt tics they are giving me but they have been unable to get through to me. They want me to call by May 15 to accept these "awards." I don't think this is legit, do you? The postmark is Phoenix.
May 10, 2013, 8:18 am
#2
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: SFO
Posts: 1,746
Well... Call whom? If it's AA's number, why not. Anything else tread carefully.
May 10, 2013, 8:20 am
#3
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: SFO
Posts: 1,746
Scam. http://800notes.com/Phone.aspx/1-866-592-2390
May 10, 2013, 8:22 am
#4
Join Date: Sep 2005
Programs: AA EXP, AAirpass, & CK 2MM, MR Plat Premier, DL Plat, US Plat, UA RECOVERING GS
Posts: 2,620
100% scam. But you probably could have figured that out without even googling it:
1.) I'd wager $50 the email is made out to "Loyal Customer" or something. This is a huge red flag. Any legit email will come to "John Doe" or whatever one's name is.
2.) "VP of American". We all get tons of emails from AA and none of them have such a vague title - VP - nor does AA ever refer to itself as just "American".
1.) I'd wager $50 the email is made out to "Loyal Customer" or something. This is a huge red flag. Any legit email will come to "John Doe" or whatever one's name is.
2.) "VP of American". We all get tons of emails from AA and none of them have such a vague title - VP - nor does AA ever refer to itself as just "American".
May 10, 2013, 8:23 am
#5
Original Poster
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 5
Yup. scam. Two of my friends got the same letter.
May 10, 2013, 8:28 am
#6
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Yes, scammers are getting very creative. I get several eMails looking like messages from legitimate services I use (AA, LinkedIn, Facebook, etc.) wanting me to click embedded links that go to very obscure locations. So just like getting Caller ID Blocked calls, they go ignored.
The interesting issue here is, if they are using the US Postal Service, I'd reported it as Postal Inspectors are quite eager to prosecute fraud. That's why some scammers are using FedEx or UPS, no federal laws there.
The interesting issue here is, if they are using the US Postal Service, I'd reported it as Postal Inspectors are quite eager to prosecute fraud. That's why some scammers are using FedEx or UPS, no federal laws there.
May 10, 2013, 8:33 am
#7
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
The easy thing to do -- whether relating to air travel or not -- is to call the customer service # for the vendor (not the # in the email) and ask. Don't click on anything and don't call the # in the email.
This one is a known scam, but others aren't. You won't feel any better if you are the guinea pig.
This one is a known scam, but others aren't. You won't feel any better if you are the guinea pig.
May 10, 2013, 9:36 am
#8
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Mar 2004
Location: SJC
Programs: AA EXP, BA Silver, Hyatt Globalist, Hilton diamond, Marriott Platinum
Posts: 33,527
May 10, 2013, 11:26 am
#9
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: NYC
Programs: AA EXP / LT PLT / 3MM, Marriott LT Gold
Posts: 35,366
May 10, 2013, 11:32 am
#10
Join Date: May 2009
Location: South Park, CO
Programs: Tegridy Elite
Posts: 5,678
Seems pretty obvious as a scam. Why would AA be randomly giving someone two free RTs? And if they were, why would they care if they couldn't get ahold of you - your loss, not theirs. For that matter, they have your address and can send you a letter about it, but not just simply send the actual tickets?
Now the email I got from Selma Hayek about the Angelina Jolie weight loss is definitely legit.
Now the email I got from Selma Hayek about the Angelina Jolie weight loss is definitely legit.
May 10, 2013, 2:02 pm
#11
FlyerTalk Evangelist
Join Date: Nov 2003
Location: South Florida
Programs: AA LTG (EXP), Hilton Silver (Dia), Marriott LTP (PP), SPG LTG (P) > MPG LTPP
Posts: 11,329
Seems pretty obvious as a scam. Why would AA be randomly giving someone two free RTs? And if they were, why would they care if they couldn't get ahold of you - your loss, not theirs. For that matter, they have your address and can send you a letter about it, but not just simply send the actual tickets?
Now the email I got from Selma Hayek about the Angelina Jolie weight loss is definitely legit.
Now the email I got from Selma Hayek about the Angelina Jolie weight loss is definitely legit.
Now if I could just get Marriott to stop flagging my account because the username is Marriott@mydomain.
May 10, 2013, 6:40 pm
#12
Moderator: American AAdvantage
Join Date: May 2000
Location: NorCal - SMF area
Programs: AA LT Plat; HH LT Diamond, Maître-plongeur des Muccis
Posts: 62,948
Quickly put together shotgunned scam.
May 10, 2013, 7:37 pm
#13
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: TPE, LAX
Programs: LH Senator, IHG Plat, Hilton Gold
Posts: 596
scam. got that before.
May 10, 2013, 9:02 pm
#14
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 50
I feel like these have started coming more often. Have seen at least a couple in the past few months.
May 10, 2013, 9:43 pm
#15
Join Date: May 2008
Location: BOS/SIN
Programs: SQ
Posts: 2,704
I got one the other day too. It said 'American Airline' as the brand.
Obviously I'm too stupid to know that there's an 's' at the end of the name, so they stole all my money and credit card information and now my life is over.
Seriously though, they had my home address and it was handwritten on the envelope. Kind of sketchy.
Obviously I'm too stupid to know that there's an 's' at the end of the name, so they stole all my money and credit card information and now my life is over.
Seriously though, they had my home address and it was handwritten on the envelope. Kind of sketchy.