A couple got stuck in Maui after a scammer posed as Southwest, canceled their flights, and used the credits to book another trip

• A couple wanted to escape Maui after the wildfires started.
• They searched Google for a number for Southwest and called to change their flight to an earlier one.
• It was actually a scam. Their flight was canceled and they had to pay $3,400 for a new one, per CBS13.

A couple who were in Maui with their baby while the wildfires were raging described getting scammed while trying to arrange flights home.

The con set them back an additional $3,400, according to CBS13 Sacramento. It came because a number they found on Google purporting to be Southwest was actually a con artist — a trick that has caught people out before.

Kevin and Megan Morgan said they were in Hawaii to celebrate their five-year wedding anniversary, on vacation from California.

But with smoke filling the air, buildings burning down, and the death toll rising, they decided it was time to leave the island and make their way home, CBS13 reported.

"We're kind of like, 'Let's just make the call.' With the baby, it's too much to be over there," Megan Morgan told the news outlet.

So, Morgan called a number for Southwest she found on Google to try and schedule an earlier flight for her and her family. She gave the person on the line the family's confirmation numbers and names but refused to pay a fee to change the reservation, according to CBS13.

"And then he says, it's going to be like $200 or something to change," Morgan said, per CBS13. "And I'm like, 'No, no, no, there shouldn't be change fees. This is Southwest."

"And he says, on the phone, 'I've told you four times now, this is how much it costs if you want to change it."

Morgan said she refused to give her credit-card details and hung up the phone.

But when she logged into her Southwest account to check her reservation, a message appeared showing that their flight home had been canceled, according to CBS13.

Later that night, she realized she had been scammed, and that the number she had found on Google belonged to an imposter, CBS13 reported.

That person used the family's names and confirmation numbers to cancel their flights home. The scammer then used the flight credit to book a flight for somebody on the East Coast, CBS13 said.

"I've never heard of this scam," Morgan told the news outlet.

The problem has been reported on previously, by Insider and others. In July, Insider's Monica Humphries told the story of Shmuli Evers, who narrowly avoided being tricked while trying to alter her Delta Air Lines booking.

In a statement to Insider for that story, Google said it was doing its best to stop fraudulent numbers being listed.

After their flights were canceled, the Morgans looked for other ways to get home, but no flights were available. This meant that the family had to spend an extra two nights in Hawaii and pay an additional $3,400 to fly home with Hawaiian Airlines, according to CBS13.

It's unclear if the family was refunded by the airline. Southwest Airlines did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.