First time traveling to Italy here! Flying into Rome in about a week. I booked through Avis via Auto Europe. Got an odd call (showed up as "potential spam" on my phone and an Italian number). They told me I could "Skip the line" by providing my license info up front and they were able to read off my Avis booking number. I declined to provide the info and said I would just stand in line when I get there.
Ultimately my question is.... is this normal or should I have any concerns?
Not normal
When I was in Germany, I rented a car through auto Europe and the day before I Wester pick up the car, I got a text via WhatsApp from Avis, which was the car rental company, telling me I could check in early and wanting to get some information from me.
But that didn’t sound anything like yours. Mine seemed very official and as I said was through a text, not a phone call. You might want to contact Avis or what’s up and let them know about this.
Call AutoEurope
they have a toll free number
Called autoEurope and Avis and both said they would not be asking for that information. Scary though as they read off my Avis confirmations number spot on...
This is either an awesome new customer-friendly service option, or else it's concerning. It would be a nice convenience to completely skip the line and the formalities at the rental counter, but it would be decidedly inconvenient to have your identity stolen. Both are possibilities.
@yc_25, when you check in for your car (in person, at the agency), please ask them about this and report back to let us know. If they look at you like you are crazy, and deny they ever do anything like that, that would suggest to me that Avis or AutoEurope or that particular Avis location has had a data breech, which is (or should be) a big deal (and they should know about that and take action). Speaking for myself, and I'm sure others here, I'd like to know either way.
Thanks and good luck.
What you can do is this if you'd like to save time.......
Since it's an Avis rental, sign up for Avis Preferred. It's their frequent rental program and is free. When you sign up, you can enter your drivers license info, payment info, etc. Once joined, you can link your rental confirmation number to your new account and all that information will be available so you don't have to enter it at the airport when picking up the car.
I would be very surprised if this call wasn't real. The rental car companies are trying to minimize the number of people who come into the office.
