It is most definitely a scam. I’ve been in the retail/travel industry for 21 yrs, and the airline/airline provider ALREADY have your cc on file and can easily reverse the charge. They didn’t need to call you for any information at all; it’s all on file and they process loads of cc refunds every day. It only sounds plausible to you because you were hoping for a refund. My guess is that someone hacked into Cheapo Air and got your name/phone number, but they need your cc number to complete the theft. This is not the norm for the travel industry—trust me. If it were legitimate, Cheapo Air didn’t need anything from you to issue a refund!!! Monitor your cc statement closely since you did provide them with your cc number (not the pin, thank goodness). But they now know your cc number and the name on the card, and I can’t remember if you gave them the expiration date on the card. If it were me, I would call the cc company and explain that you fell for a phishing scam and to request a new cc and close the one in question.
Thanks for your sharing your thoughts.
I should have been more suspicious about the phone call, but as you pointed out, somehow they acquired the booking number, my email address and phone number. CheapoAir sent me an
authentic email and opened the refund on 5/13, these guys were emailing me on 5/14. So, somebody squealed.
I let the bank know, fortunately it’s a travel card I use it very little now. They’re on it - I tried to put some groceries on another card this morning and they declined it and sent me a text to approve the charge. So, any attempt to use that card will be declined.
I think, when I called the number, it played the cheapoair jingle before they answered. It certainly felt legit. In examining the email, I can’t figure out how they faked the email address. Billing@cheap*air.com isn’t an alias, not sure if it’s a valid company address but it passed through the spam filters. Thanks to you and everyone for responding!