Alinea Warns Prospective Diners of Reservation Scams

Diners looking to make a reservation at one of the country's most esteemed restaurants, Alinea in Chicago, have been warned to be wary of a new phishing scam. This morning, chef/owner Grant Achatz and co-owner Nick Kokonas took to Facebook to tell diners to watch out for individuals posing as restaurant reservation staff. They explained how the scam has been fooling prospective diners: "...a Facebook account contacts someone looking for Alinea tickets. They then ask to wire or Moneygram funds to them. They have been targeting our guests coming to Chicago from abroad. They are using fake email accounts with spelling errors of one letter."

Reservations at Alinea are often made months in advance through a sophisticated ticketing system. Because tickets can be resold, Alinea is encouraging diners who are looking to purchase tickets from a third party to contact the restaurant to confirm the validity of the tickets prior to exchanging money. Achatz and Kokonas note: "If someone posts tickets for sale most of the time they are real and we encourage our Facebook community to contact them... then contact us at tickets@alinearestaurant.com to confirm that they are actual tickets. Then, use the ticket transfer feature on our ticket site."