You're right, I do think this is what happened. And no it isn't new, but I've never seen it be so deceptively implemented. I posted a similar thread at fodors and several people who are better traveled than I agreed that it seems like the aggressiveness of these scams is ramping up, which is unfortunate. It seemed pretty simple to avoid in the past, and now it's almost like tiptoeing through a minefield trying to obtain a rate that's not absolutely absurd.