Beware of False & Fraudulent Housing Claims
What is a “housing pirate”?
Commonly referred to as “housing pirates” or “housing bandits,” these are companies that phone, fax or email attendees and exhibitors, claiming to offer good deals on hotel rooms. They may falsely claim to be affiliated with WESTEC.
No WESTEC-authorized organization will contact you about WESTEC hotels or housing. Unless you have initiated the communication, please do not provide anyone with your personal information, especially your credit card number. If you provide your credit card information to one of these companies, your card may be charged and there is no guarantee you will have a room upon your arrival in Long Beach.
Reporting Fraud
If contacted by someone asking if you need a room at WESTEC or representing themselves as the “WESTEC Housing Partner,” please:
- Get as much information as you can, such as the name of the company, the name of the person calling, company address, email address and their telephone number. The more information you are able to collect, the better for us to stop them from contacting others. If possible, please request information such as hotel availability and rates or have them send this information to you via email.
- Contact westec@sme.org with all of the details you are able to provide.