Expedia, TripAdvisor and other big brands targeted in major scam
A Florida-based robocall scammer could be hit with a massive $120 million fine.
The US Federal Communications Commission is proposing fining Adrian Abramovich of Miami a record amount after his two marketing companies made 96 million illegal robocalls in just three months.
All the calls were purportedly on behalf of major travel brands Hilton, Marriott, TripAdvisor and Expedia offering ‘exclusive deals’.
The calls directed customers to ‘travel agents’ which actually turned out to be timeshare companies in Mexico.
None of the US travel companies had any association with Abramovich or his marketing companies.
TripAdvisor was hardest hit and was inundated with complaints from customers.
It then initiated its own investigation and discovered the link to the Mexican timeshare resort company.
Some people were called multiple times a day.
The FCC said the robocall scheme was responsible for more than one million calls a day and ‘falsely represented that the called party was receiving an offer associated with a well-known, reputable travel or hospitality company’.
"Consumers were induced into thinking they had the opportunity to purchase a name-brand commodity at a discounted rate, and then were offered an unknown or significantly less valuable option instead," the FCC said.
"Abramovich intended to defraud Marriott, TripAdvisor, and other companies of their goodwill."
TripAdvisor SVP Adam Medros said in a statement: "These robocall marketing scams were intrusive, annoying and – for some people – incessant.
"Unfortunately, the scammers had been targeting the entire travel industry for quite some time. The list of brands impersonated by these fraudsters goes well beyond TripAdvisor and reads like a who’s who of well-known airlines, hoteliers and online travel agents."
TravelMole Editorial Team
Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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