When Shmuli Evers searched on Google for Delta’s customer support, he came across a toll-free 888 number that seemed legitimate. However, when he dialed it, the call quickly disconnected. He received a call back from a number with a French area code, and the Caller ID showed “DTI Publishing.” This raised suspicions, but given the stressful and anxious nature of dealing with flight cancellations, especially while at the airport, scammers are taking advantage of distracted travelers like Evers. Without paying attention to these red flags, Evers, eager to book a new flight, quickly provided his personal information, including his name and flight confirmation number, to the caller.

The scammer used this information to retrieve Evers’ flight details and continued posing as customer support. They offered him an alternative flight from Newark Liberty International Airport, which raised another red flag as the communication was conducted through SMS. Nonetheless, Evers agreed to take the alternate flight. The scammer informed him that they would cancel the original flight and charge him five times the original cost for the new one, requesting his payment information. Fortunately, Evers suspected foul play and questioned the caller’s location. The caller claimed to be from Rochester, New York, stating it was two hours south of New York City. However, Evers recognized this as a lie since Rochester is actually several hours northwest of New York City. Despite the scammer’s attempts to persuade him through texts, Evers refused to provide his payment information, leading the scammer to eventually give up. Evers then took to Twitter to share his experience, realizing that this scam was not limited to targeting Delta customers alone.