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My mom and an interesting letter arrived in the mail today.
She was sent a tear and pull open notice. I thought it was an ad for Medicare or some other junk mail so I opened it. I’m glad I did.
The letter
The letter was a tear-and-pull-apart style mailer. It had bold letters in the top area stating: Â DO NOT IGNORE – ACTION REQUIRED. There was no return address just my home address and my mom’s name on it.
what it said
After I opened the letter I was met with a generic-looking sales letter. It stated it was for the 2024 Travel Excursion Showcase. (Whatever that is.) It stated you could fly around all major domestic airlines.
The gist of the letter was that you and your spouse or partner could travel anywhere in the US thanks to two complimentary tickets. You can stay 2 nights at over 1,000 Marriot, Hilton, Or Hyatt hotels and the value of the prize was $1,180. You also could claim a $100 dining voucher if you called within 24 hours.
All you needed to do was call 1-855-478-6005 and use the claim code TNC06. The letter also had a Logo from Fairfield Inn Marriott.
It was signed by Patrick White.
To top it all off under the logo there is text that reads:
All trademarks are the property of the respective owners.
Certain restrictions, taxes, and fees apply please call for details.
Not applicable to Alaska or Hawaii. All major carriers accepted.
Not a Timeshare or Real Estate offer. No purchase is required.
This is odd because the letter doesn’t tell you what it’s for aside from inviting you to take advantage of the travel offer.
The not a Sales notice caught my eye
Since the sender took the time to note that this wasn’t a Timeshare or Real Estate sales vacation then what is it? I doubt most people will say hey we won a two-night stay at X hotel anywhere we want. Except Alaska or Hawaii.
This isn’t a new scam
While I was researching this scam I found it’s not new. I’d had phone calls regarding being a rewards member for Marriott or a brand of their hotels saying I’d won a free night stay. Yet this was the first letter we’d been sent.
The letter looks very generic. I found it odd that there isn’t a notice of destination just the Fairfield Inn logo.
I found a thread via TripAdvisor from 2021. It was a similar letter but it dealt with cruises.
The US Postal Inspection Service also has a post about similar mail.
I found a more recent complaint to the Better Business Bureau as well.
what kind of scam is this?
I’m guessing this would be a money scam because you would be charged a fee for your tickets or travel arrangements. I would also say it could be a fraud scam as well. The scammers want to collect info on you. That being said don’t take this letter seriously.
If you didn’t sign up for any travel notices or hotel rewards programs it’s a scam.
Let’s get the word about this scam making the rounds again.
