Night (Audit) Of The Scam Stories

(I work night audit at a big name hotel chain. During one night audit shift, I have a female guest come up to the desk. She has already checked in and is just walking around the building, but she has to stop and tell me about her woes.)

Me: “Good evening, how can I help you?”

(There is no response to the greeting; she just immediately goes into her story without any intro.)

Guest: “So, the ‘government’ called me today.” *uses air-quotes on the word government* “They told me I qualified for a $9,000 loan, but in order to receive it, I needed to go and purchase $250 in gift cards.”

(At this point, I’m thinking, “This can’t be leading into what I think it is.” She continues.)

Guest: “So, I bought these gift cards, called them back, and gave them the numbers off the cards, but then they wanted me to go and purchase $600 more in the same gift cards.”

(I open my mouth to try and cut in on her story, because at this point, I know she’s the victim of a scam but she keeps going.)

Guest: “So, I went online and looked them up, and I realized it was a scam! So, I called this company back and told them that I found out what they were trying to do, that I wouldn’t fall for it, and that I was going to call the FBI and blast them on the internet any way I could!”

(She was so proud of herself at this moment. After that, she walked away. I didn’t get a word in on this conversation, but I was floored. I couldn’t believe people actually still fell for this kind of scam. Thankfully, she only lost $250, but she could’ve lost a lot more. People, please, do not fall for these scams. And do not dump your life troubles on us innocent night auditors.)