US5 min(s) read
Published 17:17 01 Jun 2024 GMT
Travel experts have weighed in on the dispute between a customer and Carnival Cruises after a scammer used a booking reference to cancel a family's entire vacation.
Tiffany Banks' story went viral online after she took to TikTok to complain about her cruise being canceled less than 48 hours before she and her family were due to board the ship.
Taking to the video-sharing platform, the distraught mom opened up about the entire ordeal, stating that her world was flipped upside down within mere hours of receiving a cancelation email from the company.
“We have nearly $15,000 tied up in for this vacation including excursions," she said in a video. "The room itself was I think $12,000 or $13,000, and then we’ve got a few grand tied up in excursions, and actually with almost $2,000 for flights."
She called the Carnival customer helpline as soon as they opened at 9:00AM, hoping that there was a mistake in their system, but when a representative confirmed to her that her reservation had been canceled and taken by someone else, she was left panicking.
The company tried to offer her two other rooms, but it was a massive downgrade from the one she originally booked.
After some further deliberations, an investigation into the matter was launched.
That's when it was discovered that someone had actually created a fake account, pretending to be Tiffany after they found her booking reference in a screenshot online, after a screenshot of the family's vacation countdown was shared on Facebook.
The social media blunder led to the family's dream vacation being snatched from them.
"Do not share that booking number," Tiffany told viewers. "But it shouldn't be such an easy way to go in there and edit somebody's cruise or information. Like, that's not okay. They gotta' do better."
But why would someone do this?
Travel experts have now weighed in on the issue.
Taking to Reddit, a person who claimed to be a former travel agent revealed how scamming in this manner can benefit them.
"I can shed some light on this. I used to be a travel agent, and had a client who posted his airline reservation on social media," they wrote in a comment. "The person checked online, and sure enough, it was canceled.
The scammer told the guy that he could rebook the family on the same flight, but they had to sit in business class, and they had to pay with an Apple gift card."
"I got a call from the guy's wife, who found this suspicious," the travel agent recalled.
"When she told me, I immediately told her to call her husband, who was already at CVS buying Apple gift cards. While she called her husband to stop him, I called United, explained the situation, and they reinstated the family's booking. Same flight, same price, no extra payment needed.
"Not saying this cruise situation is necessarily the same scam, but just wanted to give an example of an angle scammers can use," they added.
The travel agent explained that a booking number should always be treated as confidential.
"Always treat booking number like a password. Never ever post them on social media," they concluded.
Another travel expert took to YouTube to discuss the story after hearing about it and advised people never to reveal their booking references.
"The day before the cruise, she found out that her cruise had been canceled," Cruise expert and YouTuber Ilana Schattauer said, recalling Tiffany's story. "She thought that the cruise line had a glitch, but it turns out that wasn't the case.
"What happened was, that lady had posted her booking information online, making her booking number visible. Somebody created a fake account on Carnival's website and put her booking number into that and canceled her booking."
The YouTuber used the story as a warning to others to never share their booking information on social media.
"Did they do it maliciously? Was it someone that knew her? I don't really know the details," she stated, before adding: "However, I think the lesson for all of us here, not just first cruisers, is not to post details like flights and cruise information online. It's never a good idea."
It comes shortly after a spokesperson for Carnival Cruises addressed the general issue telling Daily Express US: "It is never a good idea to post personal information about your travel plans, including a confirmation number for a booking, which could allow a bad actor or identify thief to use that information in inappropriate or even illegal ways."
While the identity of the scammer was never found out, the IP address was traced all the way back to British Columbia.
Of course, the reasoning may not be as convoluted as the travel agent suggested on Reddit - it could just be that social media is full of people who get a kick out of making life miserable for others.
But, put simply, a booking reference should never be posted on your social media - especially as your name is alongside it. And if your birthday is also visible, you're really just handing identity thieves some easy pickings.
In the end, the family ended up having a mini vacation in Florida at an Airbnb after rejecting Carnival's $10,404 credit offer and vowing never to sail with the company ever again.
