Scam Alert Air Travel NC | Family loses Over $6,000 trying to confirm airline seats only to learn they were duped by fake email

RALEIGH, N.C. (WTVD) — A Raleigh family is out more than six thousand dollars after what seemed like a simple check on their flight seats turned into a costly mistake.

As the busy holiday travel season approaches, it’s a reminder to be cautious when booking or even confirming airline reservations online.

The Lamotta family was excited for their trip to Thailand. “We decided to take our kids and see where Grammy was born,” said Leigh Lamotta. The trip, she said, was a tribute to her late mother. “I wanted my kids to understand where she came from, as she came here when she was 9,” Lamotta adds.

Months of planning went into the family’s vacation. Leigh booked the flights directly through the airline and paid more than $6,000 for the tickets. But before their trip, she noticed they were missing seat assignments for one of the connecting flights.

When she logged into her JetBlue account, she saw a message that said, “There’s a complication with your reservation.”

Lamotta says she called the number that appeared on the screen. After providing her flight confirmation, she was told there was a problem and the flight needed to be rebooked.

“He explained to me the process, it’s very common, which is that JetBlue will reimburse you for your previous tickets, we’ll rebook under JetBlue. Everything will be seamless. We’ll be able to make it all married together like you originally planned. I was like, awesome. That’s fantastic.”

A Fake Refund Email and a Costly Lesson

The Lamottas received an email that stated “JetBlue refund,” and it even had a confirmation code. It stated they’d receive a full refund of their original $6,827 after the trip. “Great. We go on the trip. All is great. Everything goes fine. We come home and we’re waiting for the refund, and the refund never happens,” Lamotta added.

When she called to find out what happened to the refund, “She then informs me that you’re having a problem giving us our refunds.” Then came another red flag, Lamotta says the caller told her that her credit card had declined the refund and they’d need to charge her again. “We’ll need to recharge you again, and we’ll give you an additional $1,800 this time for your inconvenience. So, can we go ahead and just do that with you now? And I was like, oh, no, I don’t have $6,000 more dollars to throw at this. Could you cut me a paper check? No, we, they don’t cut paper checks,” Lamoltta said. The call eventually ended when the person hung up on her.

That’s when she contacted JetBlue directly and got more bad news. “They don’t have any record of me talking to anybody. And I was like, well, but I used your website. I signed in under my TrueBlue account, and they redirected me to this number. And they were like, yeah, that number’s not affiliated with us.”

The Harsh Reality

JetBlue told Leigh it appeared the family’s flights had actually been booked through a third party, not JetBlue.

On her confirmation, it listed AirTravelPad – and the credit card charge showed AirlineFare. In total, the Lamottas paid twice for their flights to Thailand and paid more than $13,000. “We’re a one-income family, and so we don’t just have extra money to let go with this,” Lamotta said,

When ABC11 Troubleshooter Diane Wilson tried to contact AirTravelPad, neither their website nor phone number worked. When calling the number that appeared on her computer, the person who answered claimed to “work for all airlines.” But when told it was a news investigation, the call was disconnected.

The Better Business Bureau does have 10 one-star reviews similar to what the Lamottas experienced with AirtTavelPad. The BBB did issue two alerts for a pattern of complaints regarding advertising and refund and exchange issues, and failing to respond to the BBB.

JetBlue’s Response

“While we work with the rest of the industry to proactively try to stop fraudulent travel agencies, new sites, unrelated phone numbers, and social media profiles do pop up online. We urge customers to ensure they are always interacting with verified JetBlue channels, including our official website, JetBlue.com, verified social media accounts, or by calling 1-800-JETBLUE for U.S.-based phone support. Only legitimate contact methods should be used and are on our official website via https://www.jetblue.com/contact-us.”

A representative with JetBlue added that they don’t have any relationship with the business mentioned, and their website would not direct customers there.

A Warning for Holiday Travelers

With the holiday travel rush about to begin, experts and airlines alike are warning travelers to use extreme caution when booking or managing flights online.

Third-party booking sites often look legitimate, even appearing to be official airline pages, but may not be affiliated at all.