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CB Travel and Vacations Review of Disney Vacation Scam
Disney Vacation Scam

Disney Vacation Scam review: Telephone Scam- Not Really Disney 24

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2:05 pm EDT
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I just discovered this website a few days ago and wanted to warn others of a scam I fell for when I was 18. I got a phone call in my first apt. from a woman who worked at "Disney Dream Vacations" or something like that. She said for $250.00 per person I have a free week at any of their park hotels, free park tickets and food. I only had to pay for my flight down and back.

I was worried it might be too good to be true but I didn't even think it could be a complete SCAM. After asking multiple detailed questions I gave my c/c #, was charged $250.00 and never heard from them again. Their 800 number I was given was out of order and there was no mention of this special on Disney's website. This was almost 10 years ago but I did want others to be aware of this. I was a naive 18 year old who was swindled out of $250.00 (half my weekly check at the time), though thank the gods they didn't wipe me out.

Again, only book vacations through Disney itself or other respected travel websites. Otherwise you'll end up feeling cheated, shamed and stupid for it.

Update by SweetRose
Aug 07, 2009 6:29 pm EDT

Unfortunately for many people there are no other options besides living alone at 18 and having to learn life lessons by oneself. Again unfortunately most 18 year olds are naive and ignorant (I prefer ignorant to "stupid" because that implies a lack of intelligence rather than a lack of experience or knowledge, though I did feel stupid afterward) which is why I have posted the above.

24 comments
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Genevieve Colter
, US
Jan 02, 2017 8:48 am EST

Got this call last year. They wanted my C/C # to verify the cruise... yeah, no. Total scam.

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amiez nguyen
, US
Oct 03, 2016 11:54 am EDT

I just got a call too it was [protected] I said hello and this guy call himself josh. He never once ask my name, just keep on advertising about the free trip. I knew it was a scam so I just stay quiet listening. He goes asks me a few simple questions if I was approved for the trip. He told that on my record I am 28 years old. I didnt reply still than he goes on that I have a credit and debit card. Red flag, i told him no and tell him to have a great day and hang up. First of all, he got my age wrong I am 29 not 28. With these questions what does that have to do with anything going to disneyland. Dumb people

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fraul
, US
Jul 11, 2016 6:39 pm EDT

I just got a call about 10 mins ago and I live in Australia! sounded too good to be true.. I thought maybe it could be real because I was waiting for a package from the U.S... they said I WON a trip to Disneyland, and Cancun. Until they asked to confirm the first 4 digits of my card which I refused to give and finally decided to hang up

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Karl der Grosse
, US
Jun 29, 2016 8:17 pm EDT

I got an unsolicited call from this number this morning - sounded like a young Phillippina woman who called herself Chloe claiming to be from "Intercontinental Tourism" (said they were linked to Intercontinental Hotels) saying that I'd won a trip to Disney World Florida. She even gave me her "Operator No." (6047) and went on almost non-stop with a scripted spiel about how lucky I was and all the features of the holiday. She then transferred me to another Philippina woman who called herself Destiny (Operator No. 0417) who said all I had to do was pay $598 via my credit card there and then to "register" and I would get a confirmation number and email. They were very slick and there were office noises in the background. Destiny got the first four numbers of my credit card from me (does this give the bank details?) and then started saying they were a "preferred merchant" with my bank (they named my bank), but I backed off because they could "only give me confirmation once" I paid. This is highly illegal. It is a scam. If the U.S. Authorities are any good at all, they will bust these people. (They could even be operating from within Google or Intercontinental - that is, they could be staff members of either of those organisations.)

ANY VALID COMPANY WILL SEND YOU AN EMAIL AND SURFACE MAIL CONTACT LETTER FIRST WITH FULL RETURN PHYSICAL ADDRESS, PHONE AND EMAIL CONTACT DETAILS, AND WILL NOT REQUIRE YOU TO PAY UP FRONT.

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Lisa Houweling
, US
Apr 22, 2016 11:08 am EDT

We live in Perth, Western Australia. We got the phone call this morning, they managed to get my husband and me on conference call too! 'Anthony' went on to detail the trip we had qualified to 'win' and had my name, email, husband's name, but got my date of birth wrong. When I asked how they got the info, he told me I had entered some comp online a while ago, which I didn't. He offered Orlando, Disney, a cruise AND Cancun. He didn't say anything about flights, but the trip is valued at over US$3000. All we would have to do is pay US$299 per adult to register. When he went off to get our registration code, a woman came on the line from the sales department, and proceeded to ask for our visa card number. We never, ever give our credit card numbers out over the phone if someone has called us. How do we know they are who they say?! They could tell us they are the queen of England, and I wouldn't know any different. They have just enough info to make someone think they are legit, but it pays to be sceptical! I'm sure they weren't happy when we hung up on them! All sounded way too good to be true, and you know what they say!

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Catz17
, AU
Feb 25, 2016 7:56 pm EST
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Yes I had the same type of call to my landline about 30 mins ago ..Supposedly I filled out a form for a Disney holiday 9months ago and I was one of the top 3% to have won. The whole conversation was on the same lines as above and interestingly they had on file, an old email address that was closed at least 4 years ago, so where is this crowd getting their information? I suspect maybe facebook.They said their company was called international travel based in Florida I had Adam ref number 4975 and Mellisa who was like a dog with a bone, on the phone to me. I ended up saying I wasn't interested and hung up and so far they haven't called back

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natalec
, US
Nov 30, 2015 9:44 pm EST

I just had the same phone call just now. from a phone number +[protected] from Rose on extension number 0422. They know my date of birth and email address. Supposedly I filled out a form for Disney vacation and I am one of the lucky 1000 to be offered a trip and they will cover 75% of the cost. All I have to do is pay for registration cost for 2 adults $594 US dollars. I told them to send me the link to verify who you really are and will organize the payment. They wouldn't do it. I said, I'm sorry I am not comfortable giving away my credit card details over the phone. They went on and on about they are authorized Company endorsed by the major credit card. I don't give out my house key to anyone that knocks on my door, unless you provide me your company details via email I won't have it and then I hang up. People please beware, if it's too good to be true, it is not true. Don't be fooled.

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Steve Degiorgio
, US
Oct 20, 2015 8:25 pm EDT

Just received a call from these people too, almost had me, they convinced me i had won a prize (5 days and 4 nights) minus flights and was on my way to Orlando, heard the same script twice, any questions i raised was met with a ah ha and then the script continued, then they asked me to confirm my address (which they already had) and my Email which they already had, then they wanted my CC to pay the 2 x 297 USD for insurance.

After telling them several times i was not going to give them my CC details they tried to convince me this was how it works, i am one of the luck 3% of all entries and they are an authorised dealer with HSBC and all major CC companies i hung up and blocked the number on my mobile > all calls to voicemail.

The number was +[protected], the first operator was Sophie Operator number 0422, the second operator was Alex Operator number also 0422 so as usual, if its too good to be true, its a scam...

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KiwiBoy90
, AU
Sep 23, 2015 6:12 am EDT

OMG i just received the same phone call from +[protected] with a lady named Sophie and was calling from Orlando Florida and i stay in Melbourne Australia. She said i won a trip with food, hotel, car blah blah blah when she asked to speak to my partner i said no because im at work and then she gave me all my details and wanted me to verify my credit card when i said i dont have it the fricken robot automated bit*h keep repeating the questions with the speech i said eff off you scamming doll bludging ### and hung up on the c'nt! Please be careful guys dont let them get your $280 .

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HelenD
, US
Aug 26, 2015 5:00 am EDT

The exact same thing happened to me today. And I'm in Australia. Cheeky buggers indeed!
"Tiffany" was getting very upset that I wasn't providing my credit card details. In the end I just hung up.
Have to admit they had me going there for a minute!

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Miss Faye
, US
Jul 29, 2015 10:08 pm EDT

Looks like these scammers are still in business, as I just received call from an international mobile number similar to above descriptions.
They had my address but incorrect date of birth, which I mentioned but they didn't seem too interested (not that I would have given them the correct one anyway). I refused to give credit card details as they had called me & advised I would call them back once I received their email, but they kept pushing for Visa details, which I kept refusing to give. They gave me spool that my Visa company wouldn't allow me to be ripped off. In the end I just hung up.
The girl 'Sophie' had a very strong accent, probably spanish or similar & talked very fast, very difficult to understand. The other girl from their 'finance department' had similar accent but was a bit slower speaking & easier to understand.
After hanging up, I immediately jumped online to check if any similar scams & found that of course there is.
If something sounds too good to be true, it usually is!
Beware peoples, don't give your credit card or personal details out over the phone to unkown callers, no matter what they are promising. I don't even give out my details to my banks if they called me.

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kootenaymomma
Salmo, CA
Dec 27, 2014 3:33 pm EST
Verified customer This comment was posted by a verified customer. Learn more

Got a call from [protected] stating I had won a Disney package, couldn't tell me when I entered but tried to say that if I liked certain pages on facebook then I was automatically entered..wanted a 249$ registration fee and tried to get my credit info...I told her that in Canada if you win something it's illegal to ask for any kind of payment, she didn't have an answer for that..frikken ### if you ask me

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sharlene59
, NZ
Dec 10, 2014 10:34 pm EST

11 Dec 2014 Just reading all your comments and I am happy to say I nearly got SCAMMED into this too. I'm in New Zealand and just got off the phone with the lady called Sarah from Disney Worldwide congratulating me on my winnings (phone# [protected]). It was so hard to believe that I've won all these prices. I said wow, I cant even remember entering however she said it was sometimes during the year that I did enter. So I gave her my contact details but not my credit card details. Along the conversation, I asked Sarah if she could supply me with some of their info so that I know its authentic. She didn't say anything about the company however she was adamant that its all "real" no SCAM 100% True. I think I asked her about 4-5 times to please send me something a website or proof of identity to show that they were real! But she still insisted that I give her my credit card details and once its done she will email/post out the holiday package. I knew straight away that its was a SCAM!...cheeky buggers. Thanks for putting up this post, will let my family and friends know.

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Kaz509
Toronto, CA
Jul 19, 2014 10:19 am EDT

Just got a call from [protected] I guess the number doesn't really matter as it probably changes all the time. The person on the phone said he was from World Travel which was a licensed seller of Disney, offering me this too good to be true vacation. I didn't confirm any information they had, which included my date of birth and name and last 4 digits of my credit card. I called security at Visa and they thought the same thing...phishing scam and put a note on about the call I received.
I think the thing to remember is that any contest with a legitimate company will not try to charge a one time fee for anything. Disney does not randomly call people and offer vacations. The people ( I spoke with 2) were probably operating out of a kitchen somewhere in the US and I imagine they get a lot of takers. The fees they asked for were about $280 US per person, so if I had to give them my credit card number, they would have charged this or made a card for themselves to use.

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gg13
, US
Jun 30, 2014 11:00 am EDT

Just got a call from [protected] saying that I recently registered for a travel vacation website. Which I knew I did not. She talked so fast I had to ask her What? over and over. She continued with her rehearsed message and had my personal information and I would not verify anything with her. She completely ignored me when I kept asking what website. She said my email address, I informed her that an email address is not a website and asked again. She would not tell me, she just kept telling her job is to tell me what I won. I told her that if she can't tell me or refuses to tell me then put on her supervisor, she refused. I told her that she has to tell me or put her supervisor on because I asked and she still refused, just going on with her asking about my visa info, After I started raising my voice I told her again that she is not answering my question and I have the right to know what website. She said do you have facebook, I refused to answer, cause now I really know this is a fraudulent call. I will not look at any facebook sites due to a virus I got the one and only time that I did. She finally told me World Travel Disney. I said thank you that is the first time you identified yourself and hung up. I know that World Travel Disney would not have a Saskatchewan phone number - nice try people. oh and when I call the number it comes up saying not a long distance call. Yet in Sasktel it says no such #.

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Linda42
, CA
Jun 26, 2013 7:10 pm EDT

Just got the phone call as well and played along, every time I would ask a question the person would go through her pre-scripted text and started by asking for my bank information, blatantly asking for the numbers on the front of my cheque. When I said I would never give that on the phone, she went through her spiel again and asked for the expiration date on my credit card. Again, I would not give it until I got some written information by e-mail and thought about it, but she kept insisting to get the expiration date, saying the e-mail was on it's way. Getting pushier and pushier! I am wondering also how she got my email, date of birth, address and name... I think I will call my credit card company and have it changed...

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Dora12345
, CA
Mar 04, 2013 11:25 am EST

Just got the same phone call too. Was looking it up on google as the woman spoke. She had the audacity to call back when I hung up the first time. 2nd time I told her I found out from visa that this is a scam and to never call back unless she wants me to report her. Sad and pathetic that these are jobs. They should feel filthy.

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Iwillnotbetaken
, CA
Feb 18, 2013 3:58 pm EST

I just received a call from "Disney Cruises" I had apparently won a trip from filling out a form for a contest online (which I didn't do). She "Chanel from Disney" had my name, email and date of birth and knew (or perhaps guessed) that I was a visa customer. She claimed the same as the other posts have said: "trip for 2 all expenses paid to Florida, Disney cruise, hotel in Orlando, rental car with unlimited mileage, etc". The connection was terrible and when i looked up the number she was calling from [protected], a wireless number in Hollywood, Florida. I am really disgusted, after confirming my DOB, and email she asked the name of my guest. I said I wasn't sure if I would bring my daughter or my husband, she said if my daughter was under 12 i could bring her along. Then she said "get her on the line and I'll tell you both about the trip". At this point I was super skeptical, though I guess I always was, I said that I would go and get her (well she is 7 months old, so naturally I was going to speak to my husband). When I came back to the call she had hung up. Imagine if i had an older child and "Chanel" had announced that we won a trip to Disney?!? and it was in fact a scam... Not Cool! BEWARE!

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Newf58
St. John's, CA
Feb 06, 2013 8:11 am EST

We Got that call yesterday. They called saying that they were calling from Disney and we won a free week at Disney with food and car rental with unlimited mileage, also a stay at a local Orlando hotel . I played along for a bit. When I agreed that I had a Visa and was interested they then transferred me to the "shipping dept." Stating a 258.00 "registration fee" They asked for my c/c #. I said I would have to consider and asked if they could mail me the info. They said they would call back. They didn't.

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RevertiveDeath
Kansas City, US
Nov 29, 2012 8:00 pm EST

Just got a bunch of calls (New this week) from the numbers:
[protected]
and
[protected]
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I could tell it was a scam by the Puerto-Rican accent saying exactly what watit2ya said and they claimed I entered a contest. Here is how they have this information:
-If you purchased ANYTHING online with a credit card (Or paypal) that was not a registered 'safe' webpage according to your browser, your information (attached to the card) was then sold to who knows how many scammers. The number is then called and they seem to know enough about you to make ignorant people believe it. The moment they ask for your card's specific information such as a date of expiry or 3-digit secure code on the back you can be sure its a scam.
-For my first scam I spent 16 minutes thinking how lucky I was and then they asked me about my partner's information. All the contests I've ever entered didn't ask if I had a partner so this made me highly suspicious. Most likely they use that info to try and scam them as well.
-If you ever get a call from these scammers, all you have to do is start asking them questions that any legit business would be able to answer. Ask for the person's last name, email and extension #. Then, while still on the phone, try searching the web for the email and name. Most likely they are fake. The name I got while asking was "Que" and the extension was 0439 but they refused to give me a number until they had my credit info.

--BOTTOM LINE--

These scammers should be jailed. Please report any numbers like the ones I listed above to your local police website under the Tips section anonymously. Once a database of these numbers and locations is found, we can eventually put a stop to this.

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67hunter
Ottawa, CA
May 10, 2010 3:05 pm EDT

I absolutely agree with the above, I just received this call, and when I challenge them and refused to give my card number they we very defensive, told me I was the first person in 10 years that had an issue.
She started telling me that visa covers for these things if they are indeed a scam. and Because She had my date of birth etc.. that I would have provided it in a contest.
She would not let me get a word in after that so I hung up.

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watzit2ya
, CA
Apr 02, 2010 10:19 pm EDT

And I had a phone call today (and three days ago -- I hung up on them) saying, "This is Disney, and you've won a cruise! Congratulations, you're coming to Florida!" Then there was a line about my entering a contest (I did no such thing), and then they wanted to "verify" my information. The operator produced my birth date and full name and address, then wanted my wife's first name (which I declined to give). Next he moved on to verify my Visa card... click. I hung up.

Total scam -- the real Disney Corporation would mail me something, and they wouldn't be rude on the phone when I pushed back at their assertions.

If "Disney" calls and welcomes you to Florida, HANG UP!

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Princessleyva
La Habra, US
Mar 30, 2010 10:33 am EDT

well this scam is back. I just got an e-mail from "Disney" and it claimed I won a vaction. All I had to do was update my profile byu following the link: http://charlyshotspot11.com/dis.htm

Im very cautios and lucky didnt belive ti. Dont be fooled. Good luck and hope this helps ppl. I'd like to fwd to disney?

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coolblue
, ID
Jul 15, 2009 4:13 pm EDT

you should see this one before traveling...
http://mytourandtravel.blogspot.com/