Proceeding with caution, thank you

[CloserToSane]

I work in a reservations department in a hotel, so guess who gets to take all the payments on our prepaid rates?

Occasionally the cards decline, so we call the guests, explain where we're from and ask for an alternative payment method or just that they call their bank and see if anything is wrong.

As my boss pointed out 98% of people just reel off the card info, if that still doesn't work they give us another. The rest fall into the calling the bank category. No-one ever goes "Hmm some woman I've never spoken to is calling me and asking me for my credit card information. Should I really just hand it all over?"

Until yesterday, despite her not realising she'd booked a prepaid rate one woman I spoke to had a brief conversation with her co-workers (I presume) and then asked where I was (in house or central) and then requested the number, my name and told me she'd call back before she gave me her details.

I'm still surprised by what some people will give out over the phone. This woman actually thought it through, and even more impressive was perfectly polite about it.

[HYHYBT]

No-one ever goes "Hmm some woman I've never spoken to is calling me and asking me for my credit card information. Should I really just hand it all over?"

I may be missing something here, but if you have their name, and have identified yourself as calling about a reservation they really did make for that date and location, why should they be suspicious?

[CloserToSane]

I don't always mention a date (depends on if they cut me off first) and still I'd always double check why it declined. We could just be a suspicious bunch, but not one of us in the office would just give out details. Supposedly (I have no idea how true this is, I don't believe everything the boss tells me) but hospitality is one of the most common industries to find fraudulent transactions.

[HYHYBT]

I'd heard that, but thought it was more along the lines of charging someone for an extra day, or charging them even though the reservation was cancelled, that sort of thing, rather than calling up random people and asking for their card numbers.