A TRAVEL scam has left one man down more than $12,000 after attempting to change his flight schedule. 

The man was told he had to change his flight following a schedule change, but he later realized the help he received was fake. 

The scam begins with a trip from Philadelphia to Budapest booked by David Calder for him and his wife, The Wall Street Journal reported. 

In February 2025, Calder booked the round-trip flights on Lufthansa’s website but was told to rebook or cancel when a schedule change caused him to miss a connecting flight in Frankfurt. Germany. 

He called the airline’s customer service line that he found on Google. 

However, the number he found turned out to be a scam, a popular tactic where another company pretends to be an airline customer service provider. 

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The phone number led Calder to a person saying they were a Lufthansa customer service agent. 

The agent told Calder he’d need to book new flights on Air Canada and Australian Airlines, both of which are operated by Lufthansa. 

Calder was told he’d need to pay $12,132 to book the new flights, which was nearly five more expensive than the original tickets. 

The agent said Calder would receive a refund for the money, prompting him to approve of the purchase. 

However, Calder quickly learned of the scam when he noticed an additional $1,500 for a Southwest Airlines flight in another person’s name. 

Calder then called another Lufthansa customer service number, this time the real one, allowing him and his wife to get rebooked on their original flight. 

Calder reported the charges to Citibank, which approved the refund for the $1,500 charge. 

Meanwhile, the bank declined to approve the refund for the $12,132 charge for the fake booking, saying that Calder approved the charges. 

Citibank said it’s “committed to supporting and protecting our customers and evaluates all disputes in accordance with established regulations and fraud protection protocols, considering the unique circumstances of each transactions,” according to The Wall Street Journal. 

Calder and his wife went on their trip in August 2025 but hopes his story will encourage others to use caution when traveling.

He has filed a police report in hopes of getting the money refunded.