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Japanese mother and son busted for huge hotel loyalty scam
A Japanese mother and son were arrested for a hotel loyalty scam reportedly costing multiple hotels up to $1 million in lost revenue.
Yukiko Kishida, 51, and son Yukihiro, 31 were arrested by Kyoto police for booking rooms at three hotels but were no-shows.
They then claimed reward points on the fake bookings.
However local media reported the ruse was much more extensive.
Following inquiries, they allegedly made more than 3,200 no-show hotel cancellations over the duration of one year and claimed the points.
The value of the points fraudulently earned was about $22,000.
Using fake names, they created multiple accounts on booking platform Ikyu.com.
They then made numerous bookings for same-day check in but never showed up.
If a hotel forgets to record a booking as a no show cancellation, points are still awarded.
The site awards up to 20% back in reward points on same-day bookings.
They then used the points to stay in hotels, according to sources familiar with the investigation.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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