Restaurant falls victim to reservation phishing scam
York’s Star Inn the City says it has been hit by an industry-wide reservation phishing scam.
The business is warning all customers who have booked at the restaurant using credit or debit cards about fraudulent calls.
The Star Inn the City is part of the Star Group of Restaurants, which includes the Michelin star-listed The Star at Harome, The Winter Hütte, York, and the new Refectory Restaurant, which is due to open at York Minster in 2023.
Andrew Pern, restaurateur, said: “If you are called by anyone claiming to be Open Table and The Star Inn The City asking for card details, please under no circumstances give out these details.
“We will never call you and ask for your card details over the phone.”
Star Inn the City says it started contacting all customers and recent bookings and the online reservation platform Open Table as soon as the scam became apparent on Thursday last week and the fraud was immediately reported to the police and all the relevant authorities.
Pern said: “Our crisis team have been calling and emailing customers and recent bookings to warn them of the scam.
“If you have been affected by this scam, please contact us immediately on 01904 619208 or through our social media channels.
“All customers’ full card details are stored securely through Stripe which is separate to Open Table and have not been affected by this scam. The scam, which compromised the restaurant’s booking system, was rapidly closed.”
Customers have been warned that one of the numbers being used by the scammers, 01904 619308, is not the Star Inn the City’s number but a very similar number to the restaurant’s real number of 01904 619208.
Pern added: “The calls are quite convincing, with customer names, booking times and number in the party, plus the last four digits of customers’ cards.
“This is something that none of us needed just before Christmas with customers looking forward to putting firmly 2022 behind them and feels like an invasion of privacy, all our customers and us included.”
The hit to the Star Inn the City and its customers appears to be part of an industry-wide increase in third-party phishing scams posing as online booking sites, including Open Table, which works with 60,000 restaurants around the country.
