Family scammed out of $28K over simple travel mistake after dream vacation

When Natasha and her family were stopping over in Indonesia on the way home from a dream holiday, they never suspected a suitcase mix-up would see them left devastated and defrauded out of $28,000.Now the Melbourne family is warning other Australian travelers who are headed to the popular holiday destination about a terrible scam.It started when the family of five landed in Jakarta for three nights in October last year and accidentally picked up the wrong black Samsonite brand suitcase.When they arrived at their hotel, The Ritz-Carlton, they quickly realized their error as the suitcase was the wrong size and handed it over to staff.Luckily, their suitcase could be tracked.“This missing suitcase was for my two sons aged 15 and 12 who celebrated their birthdays while overseas and it contained their birthday presents,” Natasha told news.com.au.Apple AirTags in the suitcase revealed it was still at the airport and she believed the hotel would assist in having it returned.But when Natasha, who did not want her surname shared, woke up the next day, she was surprised.The suitcase had traveled more than 2,000 kilometers on a flight and was now at Sam Ratulangi International Airport, which is close to the capital city of North Sulawesi.The mom-of-three googled the airport and asked The Ritz-Carlton for help.

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Natasha was told that the suitcase could be returned for a small fee.She was then sent a payment link from the person at the airport via the hotel’s WhatsApp messaging account.But when she put in the details of her Qantas Titanium credit card, the link did not work.Natasha said The Ritz-Carlton talked to the person on the phone delivering further instructions and even contacted the hotel’s IT department.“I tried the card four tim...