MCS Holidays or Not?

Cancun_spam · 4 September 2008 at 2:19PM

Hi,

I received a call today on my land line from a phoney agent from MCS Holidays saying that I had won a free holiday to Cancun, Mexico and two free Disneyworld tickets in Orlando, Florida and Daytona Beach with all expenses including meals and drinks free. He said the flights and all accomodation was VIP standard and five star hotels. He valued the whole free holiday package at £7000 GBP. The call came from Asia but said it was from Washington, USA. The phoney agent then asked me for my credit card details and the three digit security code which I foolishly gave out. He then transferred me to his colleague and said that they required £397 today to cover all government taxes. At this stage I became very suspicious that this was a scam. I told the bogus agent that I had no credit on my card and he became very desperate and asked me for another VISA or Matercard which I said I did not have. He became extremely persistant and it was so hard to get him off the phone. I was not rude to him and eventually just had to terminate the call. I have since cancelled and stopped my credit card which has inconvenienced me as I have to pay £5 to my credit card provider for a new card. Anybody reading this please be so careful to not fall into this trap that I nearly fell into. Please be very careful and don't trust these type of calls.

Official MoneySavingExpert.com Note:

You may also like to read Martin's articles:

Junk the Junk
Avoid Phishing Financial Email Scams

Plus other articles to help you protect your pocket:

Scams, Spams & Dodgy Divans!

frugallass · 4 September 2008 at 2:23PM

I'd never give my credit card details to anyone that phoned me, never mind anyone who told me I'd 'won' something but wanted money for taxes !

but thanks for the warning !

Cancun_spam · 4 September 2008 at 2:28PM

Hi, thanks for your reply.

frugallass · 4 September 2008 at 3:03PM

thanks for posting the warning x

Quizman_2 · 5 September 2008 at 11:21AM

These people are also operating under Once in a Lifetime Holiday, PTP Orlando Inc, Perfect Travel Promotions. Also check out Holidaywatchdog.com.
Have reported this to the Atourney General in Florida and also the Florida Department of Agriculture & Consumer Services but they do not appear to be in a hurry to follow it up.
Received upto 40 recorded message calls a day at one point and then it stopped but just today it has started all over.

Cancun_spam · 5 September 2008 at 1:07PM

Hi,

Thank you for your reply. The information you have given me is very helpful. When they called me yesterday I had just woken up and was off guard. I lost no money at all and my credit card provider has refunded the £5 charge. I still had the inconvenience of stopping that card and I still need to inform other companies of this change of credit card. I will folllow up this complaint so that these rogues get caught!

With best wishes.

sharnad · 9 September 2008 at 8:53PM

I had a message from there today

Boyfriend didnt bother answering the phone and we had a very long message from rachel about a holiday to cancun we had won and to press one now

I said if it was real they would have left a proper numebr to call back on and asked for me by name

laurenoioi · 10 September 2008 at 1:02PM

I too had one of these calls and actually fell for it.
I spoke to 'Lori' from 'RESORT VACATIONS' and she was veyr nice and bubbly over the phone (well - should would be wouldn't she) and very persuasive. Every question I asked she had a convincing answer for.
She said I was one of 50 families my bank had picked for the holiday (to florida, bahamas etc. )
She transferred me to their 'finance dept' and I gave my card number to a man who wasn't very polite as i said i couldnt afford the 498 today and all of a sudden he dropped the price down to 298 and said i could pay the rest later, i said i didn't have that money but it seems he tried anyway. He put me on hold for 6 minutes and i actually thought he had hung up on me but then @lori' came on the phoneagain saying they coudln't secure a deposit and did i have any other cards or family members. I said no and she said she'd phone back in 20 mins. After speaking to my boyfriend he said it sounded really dodgy and i cancelled my card straight away..

She also mentioned the 'IMPERIAL MAJESTY' cruise ship which i googled and wrote a e-mail to explaining what happened and can they shed any light and I got back:

Please be aware that they are a wholesaler that offers our cruise as part of their vacation package. We have had many individuals purchase their packages are were very pleased with their vacation.

Customer Relations

It seems they've knocked up websites to make it seem real. you can't actually book any holidays through them though only leave your number and you will be called.
What a scam eh?

laurenoioi · 10 September 2008 at 1:05PM

Oh forgot to add:
Once in a Lifetime
954 Willow Garden Court
Lake Mary, FL 32746

Reservations and Customer Care
1-800-870-5865 US and Canada
0-208-150-3665 United Kingdom
1-302-351-4211 local US
00-11-1-514-667-0158 Australia

[EMAIL="CustomerService@onceinalifetimegetaway.com"]CustomerService@onceinalifetimegetaway.com[/EMAIL]

The UK number just rings and goes through to a mail box which is already full (probably messages from other ppl who've been scammed)

I have reported it to the fraud squad.

TH6030 · 10 September 2008 at 3:11PM

I Have Just Had A Phone Call From This Same Scam. I Did Not Give Them Any Credit Card Details And The Man Wasn't Very Pleased With Me. Can Anyone Tell Me If There Is A Telephone Charge Because I Pressed 1, He Told Me There Was But I Don't Know If He Said That Just Because He Was Angry.

Cancun_spam · 11 September 2008 at 2:11AM

Sorry I am not sure if there is a telephone charge. When he called me he kept me on the phone for about an hour. I hope there is no charge. Thanks for your reply.

MCS Holidays or Not?

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