Couple trying to escape Maui wildfires are targeted by SCAMMER who posed as Southwest agent and STOLE their flights – leaving them stranded and forced to spend $3,000 on new tickets
A couple trying to escape the Maui wildfires has revealed how a scam artist posed as an airline employee to get their confirmation codes, canceled their flights and used the credits to book someone else’s travel, leaving them in the state were left behind and they were forced to pay thousands of dollars for new tickets.
Megan and Kevin Morgan, of Lincoln, California, were vacationing in Hawaii for their wedding anniversary with their young son when the island began to engulf in flames.
Desperate to get home to safety, the pair tried to contact Southwest Airlines to change their flight to an earlier date – but they unfortunately got caught up in an elaborate scam that resulted in them paying an additional $3,400 to get from to get to the island.
While chatting with CBS news recently Megan explained that she called a number she found through Google, which she thought was from the airline, in an attempt to exchange their tickets.
Nightmare: A couple trying to escape the Maui wildfires has revealed how a scam artist posed as an airline employee to obtain their confirmation codes and cancel their flights
Megan and Kevin Morgan, of Lincoln, California, were vacationing in Hawaii for their wedding anniversary with their young son when the island went up in flames
Desperate to get home to safety, the couple tried to contact Southwest Airlines to change their flight to an earlier date (stock image)
But they unfortunately got caught up in an elaborate scam that resulted in them having to pay $3,400 to get off the island. Some of the wildfires in Hawaii can be seen earlier this month
She gave the person on the other line their confirmation numbers, but when she was told it would cost $200 each to transfer, she began to suspect something was up.
“I’m like, ‘No, no, no, there shouldn’t be a change fee. This is Southwest. And he says on the phone, “I’ve told you four times now, this is how much it costs if you want to change it,” she recalled.
While chatting with CBS News recently, Megan (seen) explained that she called a number she found on Google, which she thought belonged to the airline, in an attempt to swap their tickets
The man asked her for her credit card number, but Megan said she decided not to pay the fee because she had a weird feeling and eventually hung up.
But when she went to check her and Kevin’s flight reservations, she was horrified to discover that they had been cancelled.
It was then that she realized that the person she had been talking to was not a Southwest employee, but a con artist posing as an airline employee.
Using their confirmation numbers, the scammer had logged in and canceled their tickets. They then used the credit to make a new flight reservation for someone else.
By the time Megan and Kevin realized what had happened, they said almost every flight was completely full because so many people were trying to flee the Aloha State.
They had to stay on the island for an extra two nights and had to pay more than $3,000 for their new flights, which they had booked through Hawaiian Airlines.
She gave the person on the other line their confirmation numbers, but when she was told it would cost $200 each to transfer, she began to suspect something was up
When she then went to check her and Kevin’s flight reservations – only to discover to her horror that they had been cancelled
They had to stay on the island for an extra two nights and pay more than $3,000 for new flights, but they are just thankful they were able to get home safely.
In the end, they are just thankful that they made it home safely, but they hope that by speaking out about the disastrous incident, others will not be fooled in the future.
‘I’ve never heard of this. I’ve never heard of this scam,” Megan told CBS. “I’m pretty aware of different ways people scam other people, but I’ve never heard of this and it’s obviously very sophisticated.”
Southwest Airlines responded to the ordeal in a statement. It read: ‘We are disheartened to learn that a customer was abused by someone posing as one of our employees.
“Our customer engagement team is in contact with the customer to learn more and provide assistance, and we are investigating the matter internally.”