OpenTable, a popular online restaurant reservation service, recently sent an alert to app users warning them about potential credit card scams.
“I would say most of our reservations come through OpenTable,” Madonna Inn Marketing Manager Amanda Rich, said.
OpenTable says the most common way for someone to be scammed is through a phone call. Someone on the other line, claiming to be from a particular restaurant, requests a refund or deposit and asks for the user's credit card details.
“When people are making a reservation online we don’t ask for a credit card unless it’s for a party of eight or for holidays such as New Year’s Eve or Christmas,” Rich said.
Rich says they have been using the OpenTable app for years and luckily have not experienced any scams.
“It’s really helpful for customers who just don’t want to call or talk to someone," Rich said. "They can just go right on the app and make the reservation."
"Scammers will try to get you to think there is a sense of urgency and play on your emotions,” Rick Copelan, president of the Better Business Bureau of the Tri-Counties, said.
He advises to slow everything down before giving out credit card information.
“If somebody’s calling for a credit card just say, ‘I’m going to gather some information and I’ll call you back.' Then they can call us directly and confirm we weren’t asking for anything,” Rich said.
Nicola Allegretta, the owner of Mistura Restaurant, says he has been using OpenTable for over 15 years and has never had a problem using the app.
“You should not give out information to anyone,” Allegretta urges.
If you receive a callback from a restaurant asking for credit card details, OpenTable advises to just hang up and call the restaurant directly.
OpenTable encourages any of its users who receive a suspicious call regarding a reservation to report it to them via email.
