This is a classic scam that goes something like this:

You’re a night cleck at a hotel. You get a call from Mr. Patel; he’s the owner. There’s a problem with his card, and there’s a delivery coming. It needs to be paid for. Usually it has to do with an alarm system or something like that, but it varies. He might even be able to tell you that your manger, who he can name, is aware of this; however, you’re the one who is there, so you have to take care of this.

Then you get a call from the supposed delivery company, who demands payment before the item is delivered. (Sometimes this is on the same call with “Mr. Patel”.)

Mr. Patel calls back if he isn’t already on the call and wants you to take all the money out of the till. In addition, any money that you can spare from your own accounts, he’ll pay it back twofold in gratitude. That money is to be used at a bitcoin ATM, or via Western Union or Moneygram (less common nowadays, but still comes up) to send the delivery company their money. If you balk, Mr. Patel threatens to fire you. So you follow his instructions, empty out the till and also some of your own money.

Later, you find out that the owner of the hotel is not Mr. Patel - or if he is, he certainly didn’t call you! You’re now not only in trouble at work, but are also out your own money as well.

Note: While this most often targets hotels, it’s also been seen in other industries where there might be junior staff working overnight shifts. Some versions also involve getting into the business’ safe if the person has access to that.

How to protect yourself
These scams rely on the fact that night staff at hotels and other businesses might not be familiar with the owners and want to hold onto their jobs. They also rely on the fact that Patel is a common surname, especially for hotel owners, and the fact that India is a prime place for scam call centers.

Always be suspicious of someone claiming to be the owner. Be aware that payment on delivery (POD) is the owner’s issue, not yours. You should never be involved in things like that.

These scammers work on both the desire to be helpful and in threatening to fire you, the fear of being unemployed.