Because if it was called "SCAM Airlines"
you'd probably toss it right away.
I recently received a letter. It said that I "qualified for an award of 2 roundtrip tickets... The retail value of this award is up to $1,298.00."
My address was handwritten on the envelope in blue ink. There was no return address. It was sent from Phoenix, Arizona, with a letterhead that says US Airlines.
I did a search for "US Airlines" and discovered this web page (usairlinesletter, at the conveniently named "usairlinesletter"), which said it is "The Unofficial Site About the Letter from US Airlines".
Usairlinesletter tells me:
Have you recently been the recipient of a letter from US Airlines or any other airline company that offered you free or complimentary tickets?... grab your chance to avail them as it will cost you absolutely nothing.One problem, though. There is no airline called "US Airlines". There is a US Airways airline based out of Arizona, so you might be confused into thinking it's the same, but it's not.
So what's this letter about?
It's deceptive marketing, if not an actual scam. You might receive your airline tickets if you attend a presentation and pay for a travel membership package, or pay them for "fees and taxes."
It's similar to what's called an "advance fee scam", where you must pay a fee before you can get what someone is offering you, whether it's to apply for a job or get the money you supposedly won in a contest.
The usairlinesletter website is an attempt to boost the ranking of a search for "usairlinesletter" to make it look more legitimate.
If you want to search for more info on the internet, search under "us airlines scam". But to save you the trouble, here are the stories of hundreds of people who got a similar letter:
- US Airlines Award Notification...scam? Fodors>>
- US Airlines Scam: Roundtrip Tickets, Travel Anywhere in the Continental U.S. Hubpages>>
- US Airlines Scam For 2 Roundtrip Tickets, The Unemployed Mom>>
- Is this a scam? “US Airlines” is offering me two roundtrip airline tickets, Christopher Elliot>>
What the letter said:
NOTE: You must respond no later than (A DATE WAS HERE)
Dear Robert,
I am pleased to inform you that you have qualified for an award of 2 roundtrip airline tickets. Congratulations. These tickets are valid for travel anywhere in the Continental U.S. from any major international airport. The retail value of this award is up to $1,298.00. Certain restrictions apply.
We have attempted contacting you several times without success. This is our last attempt. If we do not hear from you soon, we may need to issue the ticket vouchers to the alternate.
Please call me today at 1-866-353-3242.
Regards,
(IT WAS SIGNED HERE IN BLUE INK)
Lois Adams
Vice President
GM- 26101
NOTE: The similarly named and real airline "US Airways" has also been used in a scam:
The scam involves an email containing a phony itinerary for a flight reservation the recipient never actually made. The email contains a link to “check-in” online for the flight, a fake confirmation code, and flight details. The phishing scam is deceiving because it looks authentic, even including the US Airways logo.
For more info, see this link at the Better Business Bureau: New Phishing Scam Contains Fake US Airways Itinerary>>
Got the letter, knew it was a ridiculous offer, looked it up for a scam, found the info and laughed. Dummy! Who did they think they were kidding? No moss grows on this old broad!
ReplyDeleteAnon:
ReplyDeleteA rolling scam defrauds no moss.
I got one from "Benson Norris" company, for up to $1350 from Juli Rue VP
ReplyDeleteGot my letter today (3/19/13)- Handwritten envelope, no return address, not even sealed! and the "letterhead" simply had Benson Norris across the top. Really? Do they honestly think we are that stupid? I know some people do fall for such ridiculous scams and I pity those fools but who in their right mind would respond to something that has no address and no company info?? Time to feed this to my pig (shredder)
ReplyDeleteThe reason you received the travel award is actually based on your travel purchase history. There is a travel agency in your area doing a travel-related promotion so they are trying to reach a certain target audience that travels... and due to your purchase history, your name fell into that category. (Keep in mind that a travel-related purchase can be anything from those little fingernail clippers and tweezers you bought in a 'travel' pouch, to the purse you bought that rang up as 'luggage' the other day.)
ReplyDeleteThe letters you all received are coming from a company called Vacation Tours USA, a marketing/advertising company that is hired by different travel agencies throughout the US. They work with about 10-20 agencies in 27 different states to help promote their companies and lure 'travelers' into purchasing a travel club memberships. They have purchased information on COUPLES between the ages of 30 and 70 who have made some sort of travel-related purchase within the last 12 months. (You can thank Equifax for providing them with your information!) Vacation Tours sends out their mail pieces accordingly and they are purposefully written to mimic the real US Airways so that people will actually respond to them.
People call in about the tickets thinking they have won them but the catch is, in order to claim the tickets, you have to sit through a 90 minute sales presentation for a travel company in your area. The presentation is usually half marketing/ half comedy, it's actually a lot of fun if you like to travel. There are no high pressure sales techniques used at the presentation because they are hoping that you tell your family and friends about them and possibly use their services to save you money on future travel. So no big deal, right?
Wrong! You would have to be a member in order to use their services and the membership fee is $4,000+. You literally spend MORE using their services than what you would if you made your own travel arrangements. But what about the "free" airline tickets you earned for sitting through their 90 minute presentation? Well, you will be given a travel voucher that has to be redeemed within a year of the day you got it. The travel voucher claims to work with ALL the US Airlines, they are good for two round-trip airfares. You have to pay all of your taxes and fees at the time of the flight, and the only restrictions are the blackout dates. The blackout dates are 7 days before and 7 days after a holiday which means means 316 days of the 365 days out of the year, are blacked out! There are so many hoops to jump through and so much paperwork to fill out that by the time you actually find a date that isn't blacked-out, the vouchers are null and void because it has been over a year since you got them. Only 2 people out of a 100 actually get to fly, which makes this operation legal.
Thanks! This is more informative than the article!
DeleteGreat background info. Thank you!
DeleteReceived my letter in the mail today. It reeked of fraud and scam and after doing a simple Google, lo and behold.
sounds like you are in cohoots with the scam artists? i have much better ways to spend my time than listening to some jerk go on about a sales scam.
DeleteTo the previous poster: Someone goes out of their way to post the real scam behind this, and then you call them a jerk and say your time is wasted? I guess the internet is full of ungrateful idiots.
DeleteGot my letter today. Have learned to look ALL THESE TYPES OF LETTERS UP FOR SCAM BEFORE EVEN BELIEVING THEM. Then I post the scam on FB for all my friends, and friends of friends, and so on. If everyone who got these letters followed this rule and did such posts, then perhaps these scams wouldn't pack such a punch.
ReplyDeleteGot the letter today and I must say it looked obvious that this was some scam. I googled 'US Airlines' and the very first hit was about the scam.
ReplyDeleteGot this letter today. They've gotten better. Name printed on the type of envelope where you must tear off the ends along the perforations and then open it with the letter inside. Same text. Screamed scam pretty loudly.
ReplyDeleteSo they are still trying with better envelopes and addresses now.
Mine is the same envelope format with a check voucher inside that has to be claimed in less than two weeks. They were even dumb enough to have it issued with the wrong last name. I had mine changed seven months ago in my decree and I've flown four times this year so far with my current name. Wish it were real but free flights don't come easy!
DeleteI got mine today. Identical to what's explained in the above article. Total scam. The phone number on it is 1-800-398-2183. I've wasted enough time on this already, and I'm not about to call.
ReplyDeleteAnother "too good to be true". As they say "A fool is born every minute" so I guess somebody will fall for this and the PO will get a few cents for delivery.
ReplyDeleteI received the "letter" today, May 9, 2013! Cheap envelope with no return address, postmarked Phoenix AZ. The letter stating I won 2 tickets worth $ 1350.00 was signed by Juli Kyler, Vice President, and to call 1-866-294-8171. Sorry, I am a Customer Service Representative and I read FRAUD right from the envelope! Nobody gives you something for NOTHING!!!!
ReplyDeleteWhy isn't this considered mail fraud? Or at least false advertising?
ReplyDeleteI received the same letter today. nothing in life is free. It may as well had scam stamped on it.I don't know where you can get two roundtrip tickets across the country for $1350.00 I wish I could purchase 2 roundtrips for 2 from my home in Al. to Portland, Oregon. lol
ReplyDeleteHahahahah... I received the same one today. Plain envelope , no return address. Sent from Arizona.... hello Juli Kyler how are you doing ? You should search your name on Google(only if you are existed) )
ReplyDeleteMine just arrived with today's mail.
DeleteHow beautifully ironic that it was sent by a vice president named
Dana Kline, who signed as D Kline!
Mine, too. HA-larious!
DeleteGot mine today too...called 1 855 879 8217 asked to speak to Dana Kline...was told she was unavailable...the lady I talked to was not happy when I told her I was reporting them as a scam...
ReplyDeleteReceived same letter postmarked, May 14, 2013 from Phoenix AZ here to Austin, TX. Signed Juli Kyler, VP with a phone number of 866-400-9785. Thanks for the post, this helps us all!!
ReplyDeleteNo doubt this is a scam and maybe they did get their data by purchasing information on my recent purchases but I'm not part of a COUPLE, nor have I been for a very long time. Not sure where you got your info, person who commented on April 2, but these are clearly bottom feeders, wherever they came from. Just ignore it and hopefully they will eventually go away.
ReplyDeleteGot one today, too. Same text as above and signed D. Kline. Phone number is 1-855-879-8217.
ReplyDeleteJUST got this in the mail today... they must have liked me? Upped my value to $1,350.00
ReplyDeleteThank you for posting this.
ReplyDeleteGot mine today from Dana Kline. Hello, Dana. Wondering if I should go to their meeting and keep screaming scam during their presentation.
ReplyDeleteMust be due to inflation, my ticket award is up to $1398.00. Call number is 1-855-879-8217. Claim number is: 59-001-6439 from Dana Kline.
ReplyDeleteVery short time limit, mine expires June 2nd.
Mine's $1398.00, too. It's not inflation. We're just special.
DeleteI guess I'm not as special as some of you. Mine was only $1198. From "American" (not "American Airlines"). Phoenix postmark, no return address (which should be the first clue). I guess someone's dumb enough to fall for this to make it worth their postage.
ReplyDeleteYep, I guess the award is losing value. Got mine today and it's only $1198.00. It looked totally bogus as soon as I pulled it out of the mailbox. It had a regular postage stamp (not metered), no return address, my name/address was hand written and it was postmarked out of Phoenix. It screamed "junk mail" as soon as I saw it.
ReplyDeleteMine was signed "Sue Grey" in blue ink. They seem to have a lot of Vice Presidents ... Sue is a VP also! "She" also has a different phone number from those posted above ... 1-866-233-0331
It just took a trip to the shredder.
J.K.
My letter came today from Sue Grey as well. However, yet a different phone number 1.866.233.2329
DeleteJune 13 2013 at 12:30 am.
ReplyDeleteI work at Vacation Tours USA as a agent. Yes, I am one of the people that answer the phones when people call to to ask about their letter. All of you are right, it is all a big SCAM. This company lies, steals, and tells people anything to get their money. Not only do they cheat the many, many callers who still believe their are good people out there but what they do to their workers is horrible. First, they hire us with the intention we will make from $500 to $850 plus a week. More like $255 a week. There is a base pay plus a bonus for every person that attends the "open house". Well this is all a lie. We never get to see the outcome of who went, who bought into the club, if they set another appointment time, ect ect. This makes me very uncomfortable. So I started calling back my customers that I felt went. Then I stared demanding a print out every week of who showed up and who did not and why. My first 5 phone calls proved that what I thought was happening surely is. All 5 went and received their packet of gifts, however I was told they did not go. They find many reasons to NQ people so in return we do not get paid. This way I can never reach a number high enough to make "the big bucks". So I guess some of you would say its carma, what goes around comes back at you. Please let me tell you after a heard the horror stories of what a couple people went through at the open house I cried on the phone. Everyone was so very kind, understanding and concerned.I have not confronted the company yet, and yes Im still working there. Do I want to? Not at all. Do I need to? Yes, so I can put food on the table for my kids and keep a roof over our heads. Will all this madness from a scam company who has no morals keep on moving forward? Yes, I believe they will and they will keep using their workers till one finds out too much and is fired, or maybe worse. Thank you for listening to me. I really am a good hearted, kind and loving woman. I pray every night that I do not hurt anyone with the work I do, for now. God Bless. Just for reference our so called Vice President Dana Kline is all fake. The phone number is 855-879-8217. If anyone has the correct contacts to shut them down please, feel free to do so. Love to hear your feedback and suggestions.
Received a letter today dated 6/12/13 for 2 round-trip airline tickets and 2 nights at a Marriott Hotel, valued at up to $1,398, signed by Elise Warren, Guest Services Manager. Scam telephone number 1-855-879-8217. I'm annoyed that these scams persist. I will never get back the 10 minutes I just wasted opening and reading their stupid letter and googling "us airlines scam."
ReplyDelete