How Fake Hertz Customer Support Hotline Stealed Over $600

A Brook Park, Ohio, woman claims someone pretended to be a Hertz representative and scammed her out of hundreds of dollars, providing yet another reminder that the Internet can be a minefield for deception. The scammer convinced her to buy a Walmart gift card to help with her car rental, only to find out she hadn’t spoken to a Hertz employee at all.

Read: Hertz asks electric car renters to buy their cars

The incident occurred in late 2024 and was reported on December 17. According to the woman, who asked not to be named, she rented a car from Hertz but fell behind on her payments. In response, the rental car giant remotely shut down its cars. The victim’s troubles began when she contacted Hertz to try to resolve the issue.

Fake numbers, real consequences

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According to local media reports clevelandthe woman tried to call Hertz customer support but inadvertently called a fake number she found online. The person on the phone told her that if she purchased a $312 Walmart gift card, her car rental would be paid off. She bought a $320 gift card, then called back and was told she couldn’t accept it because the amount wasn’t $312.

After another trip to Walmart, the tenant purchased a second gift card (this time for $312) and called back. She gave the operator her card number and was told the initial $320 would be refunded when she returned the car. In this way, the scammer defrauded the woman of more than 600 yuan. When she called later, the line had been cut off and her rental car had not been restarted.

READ: Hertz fights back against manager charging customer $10,000 for 25,000 miles on ‘unlimited mileage’ contract

Although many people are suspicious when a purported Hertz representative asks for a Walmart gift card to check out, there are still many people who don’t realize they are about to be scammed. In an age where misinformation is rampant on the internet, it’s increasingly easy to be fooled by what you read online, which in this case includes fake phone numbers.

Local police advised her to report the fraud to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), but as with scams involving gift cards, recovering the money was difficult.

Stay ahead of scammers

This incident highlights the importance of remaining vigilant when handling payment requests. As a rule of thumb, no legitimate company will ask you to use a gift card to settle your bill, especially a large company like Hertz. Gift cards are untraceable, making them a preferred tool for scammers.

More: Hertz in trouble after electric-car gamble, to sell 30,000 electric cars by year-end

To avoid falling victim to similar schemes, be sure to verify your phone number through an official website or other trusted source. If anything seems suspicious, such as an unusual payment method, take a step back and question it before continuing.