Protect Yourself Against Fraud
Hotel fraud can take various forms, from fake bookings to hidden charges. Scammers target exhibitors and attendees to solicit bookings at unauthorized hotels.
Unscrupulous third parties are increasingly trying to defraud conference participants. Exhibitors and attendees can fall prey to accommodation offers from fraudulent companies.
The good news is scammers often follow the same patterns and use similar tactics. There are ways to protect yourself from these frauds, and the first step is knowing how to identify them.
Read below for tips on how to identify fraudulent offers and common scams.
How Does Hotel Fraud Work?
Fraudulent companies repeatedly contact (either by phone or email) our event participants with room offers for the week of the conference. Their website, calls, and/or emails mention ICNS, and may even include our logo in the hopes of looking like an official or legitimate provider.
Be advised that no legitimate representative of ICNS will ever solicit your credit card information via phone, email, or any other form of communication to secure hotel reservations.
These third-party groups promote attractive deals with local accommodation providers, but once payment has been received, the company disappears and can no longer be contacted by phone or email. Once the attendee contacts the hotel directly about their room, they realize the hotel has no record of them or their stay. Not only is their money gone, but they must also then scramble to find last-minute accommodation, which is rarely convenient to the venue.
This practice takes money directly from our participants and negatively impacts their ICNS Conference experience.
How to Avoid Fraud
- If the offer is too good to be true, it probably is. Scammers often lure participants with incredibly low rates that are far below the market price, beware.
- Book through our recommended/official hotel. We work to deliver consistently good hotel options for our participants.
- Do not only rely on the presence of the ICNS name and logo on accommodation providers’ websites, as our name and logo are being used unlawfully.
- If using another supplier, thoroughly investigate all documentation regarding the company making the offer. Check carefully online to make sure they’re a reputable supplier with a history of satisfied, actual customers before sending any funds.
- Use credit cards to guarantee your rooms, rather than wire transfers. If your supplier turns out to be fraudulent, credit cards typically offer some form of consumer protection, whereas wire transfers do not.
Reporting Incidents
If you think you’ve been contacted by a fraudulent company, follow the steps below:
- Contact Us. Email our conference manager at awisdom@conferencecatalysts.com
- Stop payment immediately. If you paid the scammer via a credit card, contact your card company and request a stop payment. Request a stop payment with your bank if you’ve paid by check.