I Never Thought I’d Fall for a Scam While Traveling, But I Did

Los Angeles: You know, I always thought I was too smart to fall for a scam. But boy, was I wrong. It all started when I was trying to sort out a car rental issue while visiting family back East. My son got sick, and we had to delay our flight home. Switching the plane ticket was easy, but extending the rental car? That was a nightmare.

I saw a charge of over $3,000 for a car that should’ve been just $51 a day. Panic set in. I thought it had to be a mistake, so I called customer service. After an hour of being stuck in automated hell, I was feeling sick. I just needed to talk to a real person to fix this mess.

Remembering that I had some luck with social media before, I decided to reach out to the rental company on Facebook. I posted my issue, and to my surprise, I got a quick response from someone claiming to be “Customer Service.” They asked for my phone number and called me right away. I was relieved!

I explained my situation to a guy named Kenneth, who assured me he could help. I was so desperate to resolve this that I followed his every instruction. He promised I wouldn’t be charged the crazy fee and even said he’d make my extra days free. All I had to do was confirm my credit card number.

He told me not to say it over the phone but to download an app called Remitly instead. He claimed he’d send me a $100 refund for my troubles. Looking back, it was all so sketchy, especially since it should’ve been $102. But I was just so relieved to get help that I didn’t think twice.

Then, out of nowhere, I got another message from a different “Customer Service” profile. They said they were trying to reach me but I wasn’t answering. I told them I was already on the phone with someone. They insisted I hang up. That’s when it hit me — I had just been scammed.

I hung up and got another call from someone named James. I was in a daze but managed to hang up on him too. Eventually, the real rental car company replied on Facebook, saying none of those messages were from them. I was mortified and immediately called my credit card company to cancel my card.

I spent the next day and a half kicking myself for being so gullible. When I finally got to the rental car counter, a manager helped me cancel the outrageous charge. But I was a wreck by then. In the end, the scammers got away with $100, and I’m still not sure if I’ll ever see that money again.

Next time, I’ll remember to take a deep breath and slow down. I’ll verify who I’m talking to, especially on social media. And if anyone calls me cynical, I’ll just say it’s from experience.