Shreveport man warns of car rental scam

By Gerry May

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    SHREVEPORT, Louisiana (KTBS) — If you’re looking for a great deal on a rental car, be careful where you click. John Zachary learned the hard way.

He did a Google search on his smartphone for Budget Car Rental. When he didn’t like their rates, he kept scrolling to a site called autorentalus.com. Someone he thought was a reservationist said they had a great deal.

But to reserve a car, Zachary was told to go to any nearby store for some Go Bank Visa gift cards, and put his deposit money on those cards.

Zachary says he went to a CVS and loaded $500 onto two cards. He called the company back with the card numbers. Thinking he was all set pick up his car at the airport, he was disappointed when there was no reservation when he got to Shreveport Regional Airport.

Zachary said he fell for the scam because he was excited to get a bargain price on a car to drive to see family in Texas for a week.

“I’m caught up in the moment. I’m not even thinking. I’m not one of them guys that get got. And that’s what hurt me the most,” Zachary said.

While KTBS visited Zachary, he clicked on the site again to show us how the scam happens. A foreign sounding woman, who identified herself as Sarah, gave the same instructions Zachary had gotten before — to go load deposit money on Go Bank cards.

“These cards are available at any of your nearest or local stores like WalMart, Walgreens, CVS, any of the dollar stores, like Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, 7/11. They all carry these cards,” we heard the scammer say on Zachary’s speakerphone.

Zachary called police. But he says there’s probably nothing they can do.

Reports indicate the scam is victimizing people around the country. The Better Business Bureau says other consumers have reported to bbb.org/ScamTracker that they were told to make payments via CashApp, Google Play Card, or American Express Gift Cards.

The BBB says consumers who use smartphones to search for rental cars can be served up geotagged ads leading them to sites offering rentals. These sites may not be affiliated with legitimate businesses and are often hosted overseas.

BBB offers these tips for renting a vehicle:

1) Pay by credit card. Beware of any company asking for alternative payment methods (such as a prepaid debit card or gift cards). Scammers prefer to use methods such as these because there is little recourse if there is a dispute.

2) Check the phone number and URL. Googling phone numbers can often land you in the hands of an impostor. If you’re making rental arrangements online, be sure you are on the company’s site and not a look-alike.

3) Always check car rental company ratings with the BBB to see if the business is reputable.

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