Allegiant tells woman in SWFL she was likely scammed out of her flight

Many people are trying to rebook trips and flights as travel loosens up again. When a woman we spoke to tried to do so, she learned someone else beat her to it. She might be out hundreds of dollars, with a con artist flying high.

Leslie Starkey first booked her trip through Allegiant Air in October 2020 to head home that December.

“I’m from West Virginia, but I fly into Pittsburgh,” Starkey explained.

When coronavirus cases hadn’t cooled down, Starkey decided to cancel.

“I was very upset,” Starkey said. “I really wanted to see my family.”

She did get a credit, so she thought the only thing she lost was family time. When Starkey tried to rebook her flight this April, she learned her confirmation no longer existed.

“They told me someone had used it in December,” Starkey said. “An email came through with the email of Duke Nelson and booked flights”

Starkey contacted Allegiant, and the airline told her she fell victim to a con artist, saying someone gained access to her confirmation number and replaced her personal information with theirs. That’s when she called WINK News.

“$300 is $300,” Starkey said. “It’s the way I look at it. I don’t steal from people. I just want what’s mine.”

In an email to WINK News, Allegiant wrote, “There was no breach of Allegiant systems. When this happens, it is due to an unsuspecting customer sharing the information via email or phone with a third-party scammer.”

That might have happened in December.

Starkey says she called Allegiant to cancel her reservation. Allegiant says it has no record of that call.

“I think they should honor my tickets,” Starkey said. “It wouldn’t be free because I’ve already paid for it, so I just think they should make it good.”

Allegiant says it will refund Starkey the balance of her credit and assist her in any criminal investigation.

Travel agent Anne Lindburg says she feels for Starkey and hopes no one else lands in the same situation.

“Your record locator finds everything,” Lindburg explained. “It’s a six-digit number. That is a really important number to keep.”