Questionable email supposedly from Princess

[2Oregonians]

Hi everyone! We are leaving in 9 days for the Mexican Riviera on the Sapphire. I have gotten a few legitimate pre-cruise emails with pictures & graphics, links and lots of info. They come from the email address princess(at)email(dot)princess(dot)com, and say "New Information for Booking # xxxxxx" Well, today I got one from the email address importantnotice(at)princesscruises(dot)com. There are no pictures, our names are not on it, nor is our booking number. There isn't even a salutation or a closing signature. I will copy & paste the body of the email:

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

We show that you have purchased pre or post cruise transfers. As of today, we have not been provided with the required independent information for these transfers. The missing information must be provided asap or your transfers will be cancelled and you will be required to get yourself to/from the ship. This information may be submitted via POLAR Online or the Cruise Personalizer on our website.

 

 

Notice: This is an automated email, please do not reply as it is undeliverable.

 

_____________________________________________________________________________________

 

There is literally NOTHING else in the email. Also, I really don't understand what they are requesting us to do. Our personalizer shows the transfers. Think it's a phony? There is nothing for us to click on and link to, nor is there a request for any information from us, so how would a scammer benefit from this? Guess I should call Princess when they open in the morning. Has anyone else gotten anything odd like this?

[caribill]

If you have purchased transfers, have you gone to the part of the personalizer where you tell Princess which flight you arrive on and which one you depart on?

 

They need that information from everyone with transfers in order to properly schedule your transportation and to know when to look for you at the arrival airport.

 

If you have already provided that information, the fact that it is not your booking number in the message is a clue that Princess computers have a problem.

 

If you have not provided the information, either do it via the personalizer or directly with Princess or by using your travel agent if that is how you booked the cruise.

[2Oregonians]

Yes, our independent air info is in the personalizer.

 

Not only is it not OUR booking number in the email, but there is NO booking number in the email. It is from a different email address than the other pre-cruise informational emails have come from, and has a totally different appearance to it.

[Pam in CA]

I'd call Princess in the morning once they open.

[BigGuy25]

It does sound suspicious! I clearly would not respond without calling Princess.

 

But it got me thinking about how a "scam artist" would get the information they had about you and your cruise. Then I realized how simple it would be for a person to get this information. Many of us actually make it easy by "publishing" it for others. I'm always amazed how much personal information people give out here on CC. Whether on the "boards" or on the "Roll Calls" people give up their actual names, where they live, ship name, cabin numbers, dining times, sailing dates, email addresses, and much more. Combining that with the information on a Facebook account can even provide more personal data. Everything an unethical person needs to commit a crime.

 

I never give up this type of info here on CC. I know my fellow passengers think I'm being "unfriendly" when I'm actually one of the most outgoing folks you'd ever meet. I just don't give up that info until we meet in person.

[teripp]

Call Princess. It may be a scam. Better to call them and get the real info regarding this email.

[paul929207]

Call Princess or your TA to be sure it is legit.

[Stevesan]

Certainly sounds Phishy.:rolleyes:

[Ula]

When I get off the wall e-mails like that I call the source direct. I do not use any link in the e-mail. We have only gotten the standard e-mails for this cruise, but are not using any transfers.

[navychop3]

"get yourself to/from" sounds awfully fishy alone. But with no malicious link it's hard to see what they're trying to do.

 

Definitely call.

[2Oregonians]

"get yourself to/from" sounds awfully fishy alone. But with no malicious link it's hard to see what they're trying to do.

 

Definitely call.

 

That's what I thought too. Wasn't a very professional sounding letter with a large dark black font, no greeting or closing, no names or booking number, and no graphics whatsoever. I have just gotten up here in the west coast and will call in an hour when they open. Thanks everyone for your input. I'll post the results of the phone call.

[RickEk]

Well, if it was a phishing attempt, it was a poor one if it didn't have any links to click... What's the point if it doesn't try to redirect someone to a malicious site?

[2Oregonians]

Well, if it was a phishing attempt, it was a poor one if it didn't have any links to click... What's the point if it doesn't try to redirect someone to a malicious site?

Yes, which is what I asked in my original post. I guess it's just more the "odd" factor and has me very curious as to why it would be in an ugly font with no graphics or personal information, no greeting or closing, etc. etc. Just odd for Princess emails which are usually friendly and nice looking. And came from a different email address. Curiosity and wondering if anyone else has seen anything like this. I'll be calling in 15 min or so.

[2Oregonians]

Called Princess and they verified what I already knew - the air info IS on our personalizer and they DO have the info. She didn't know whether this email was from princess or not. You'd think she'd know if they use that email address or not, but she just said she wasn't sure, but that everything was fine & dandy - nothing to worry about. Weird computer glitch maybe. :rolleyes:

[RickEk]

Called Princess and they verified what I already knew - the air info IS on our personalizer and they DO have the info. She didn't know whether this email was from princess or not. You'd think she'd know if they use that email address or not, but she just said she wasn't sure, but that everything was fine & dandy - nothing to worry about. Weird computer glitch maybe. :rolleyes:

 

The domain is legit. My friend works at Princess and that's the domain they use for email to employees...

[lovevacadays]

you should also notify/send the email to your email provider if you think it is a scam. A couple of months ago I had someone compromise my email account and send bogus emails to my contact list. I contacted my provider as they want to be aware of these types of things to help prevent them in the future. They asked that I forward anything that looked suspicious. I did have one email that was asking for personal data and appeared to be from my provider

[JBCA]

Hi all - not new to the website but this is my first post. My husband and I are on this cruise as well - only a few days to go - can't wait! We received the same email last night so I called Princess today. I was told that it was a form email they send out to all customers just before the cruise. Still sounds strange to me though - not sure why Princess would send out a form email of this nature. This is our 8th Princess cruise and the first time we've seen an email like this.

[2Oregonians]

Hi all - not new to the website but this is my first post. My husband and I are on this cruise as well - only a few days to go - can't wait! We received the same email last night so I called Princess today. I was told that it was a form email they send out to all customers just before the cruise. Still sounds strange to me though - not sure why Princess would send out a form email of this nature. This is our 8th Princess cruise and the first time we've seen an email like this.

 

If you haven't already done so, please join our roll call. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1109753

[Colo Cruiser]

I agree with Rick, there are no links in the message so how can it be malicious/fake etc?

Just call Princess.