A couple fleeing the Maui wildfires have revealed how a scammer posed as airline employees to get their confirmation codes, canceled their flights and used the credit to book a trip for someone else – resulting in that they were stuck in the state and forced to spend thousands of dollars on new tickets.
Megan and Kevin Morgan, from Lincoln, California, were spending their wedding anniversary with their young son on vacation in Hawaii when the island caught fire.
Desperate to get home safely, the two tried to contact Southwest Airlines to reschedule their flight to an earlier date – but unfortunately they ended up in a complicated scam that resulted in them being stolen another $3,400 had to pay to leave the island.
During a recent chat with CBS News, Megan explained that she called a number she found on Google, which she believed was the airline’s, to exchange her tickets.
Nightmare: A couple escaping the Maui wildfires have revealed how a scammer posed as an airline employee to get their confirmation codes and cancel their flights
Megan and Kevin Morgan, from Lincoln, California, were spending their wedding anniversary with their young son on vacation in Hawaii when the island caught fire
Desperate to get home safely, the couple tried to contact Southwest Airlines to reschedule their flight to an earlier date (stock image)
Unfortunately, they got caught up in a complicated scam that resulted in them having to pay $3,400 to leave the island. Some of Hawaii’s wildfires were spotted earlier this month
She gave the person on the other end her confirmation numbers, but when told it would cost $200 each to switch, she began to suspect something was wrong.
“I say, ‘No, no, no, there shouldn’t be any exchange fees. That’s Southwest.” And he says on the phone, “I’ve told you four times now, that’s what it costs if.” “You want to change it,” she recalls.
During a recent chat with CBS News, Megan (pictured) explained that she called a number she found on Google, which she believed was the airline’s, to exchange her tickets
The man urged her to enter her credit card number, but Megan said she decided not to pay the fee because she felt weird and eventually hung up.
But when she checked the flight reservations for herself and Kevin, she was horrified to find that they had been cancelled.
That’s when she realized that the person she was talking to wasn’t a Southwest employee, but a fraudster posing as an airline employee.
The fraudster had logged in with his confirmation numbers and canceled his tickets. They then used the credit to make a new flight reservation for someone else.
Realizing what had happened, Megan and Kevin said that almost every flight was fully booked because so many people were trying to flee the Aloha State.
They were forced to stay two extra nights on the island and had to pay over $3,000 for their new flights, which they booked through Hawaiian Airlines.
She gave the person on the other end her confirmation numbers, but when told it would cost $200 each to switch, she began to suspect something was wrong
When she then checked the flight reservations for herself and Kevin – and was horrified to find that they had been cancelled
They were forced to stay two extra nights on the island and had to pay over $3,000 for new flights, but they’re just grateful they managed to get home safely
In the end, they’re just grateful they managed to get home safely, but they hope that by disclosing the catastrophic incident, they’ll prevent others from being scammed in the future.
“I have never heard of it. “I’ve never heard of this scam,” Megan told CBS. “I’m quite aware that there are different ways to cheat others, but I’ve never heard of it and it’s obviously very sophisticated.”
Southwest Airlines responded to the ordeal in a statement. It said: “We are disheartened to learn that a customer has been taken advantage of by someone posing as one of our employees.”
“Our customer engagement team is in contact with the customer to learn more and offer support, and we are investigating the matter internally.”