Who is texting me from 36246?

Use a 36246 confirmation to check a booking you just created or changed.

A real confirmation should mirror the restaurant name, party size, date, and time you picked moments earlier. It is a record of a booking. It is not a request to type card digits back into the message.

Use a 36246 waitlist text only while you are actively waiting for a table.

A table-ready alert makes sense when you joined an OpenTable waitlist and are near the restaurant. The useful detail is timing: a text during dinner service after you added your name fits. A surprise waitlist text at breakfast does not.

Treat 36246 reminders as calendar nudges, not payment demands.

A reminder exists to get you to show up or change the booking before the restaurant holds the table. A restaurant card hold belongs inside the booking flow or the restaurant's own checkout, not inside a reply bubble asking for digits.

Read 36246 receipts as records, not new charges to approve.

Receipt or dining messages should describe an OpenTable action that already happened, such as a completed reservation or account activity. They should not turn into a second authorization step by SMS.

Use 36246 security texts to review OpenTable account access.

An account notice fits when you changed a password, requested access, or triggered a security check. Do not turn that notice into a phone handoff. A code sent to you is for your screen, not for a caller, host, or recruiter.

Refuse to send card digits, CVV, PINs, or card photos by text.

OpenTable and restaurants do use card holds for some reservations, especially no-show policies. That card entry belongs in the app or a proper checkout page. A text reply with your digits is the wrong container.

Do not sign in through a link built on a lookalike OpenTable domain.

The domain trick is the giveaway: opentable.secure-booking.com belongs to secure-booking.com, and open-table-reserve.com is not OpenTable. A fake page copies the logo, then asks for your password or card before showing the reservation.

Delete OpenTable job offers that arrive from recruiters, chats, or local numbers.

The fake-work version uses the brand as bait for review tasks, reservation tasks, or commission dashboards. It is not a reservation alert from 36246. It is a path to deposits, crypto top-ups, or account takeover.

Block any 10-digit number calling itself OpenTable Support.

A normal mobile number can display the brand name in the message body, but it is not the leased short code. Scammers use that gap to say the official text system is down, then move you into payment or password requests.

Reject any text that turns a reservation into an off-platform deposit.

Watch for Zelle, Cash App, Venmo, crypto, gift cards, or a card-entry page sent only by SMS. A real restaurant policy is attached to the reservation or handled by the restaurant's own systems, not by a stranger in a text thread.

Do not read a one-time code to a caller claiming to fix your reservation.

This is account takeover dressed as customer service. The caller triggers a code, you receive it from a real channel, and then they ask you to read it back. The code is real. The caller is the theft.

Stop when the details are wrong and the text asks for new personal data.

Wrong city, wrong restaurant, wrong party size, or a date you never picked means the message is not anchored to your booking. The next ask is the trap: update your profile, re-enter your card, or confirm identity.

Leave side chats that claim to handle OpenTable bookings.

Telegram, WhatsApp, and recruiter-style threads are common in fake job and fake support scripts. They separate you from the reservation record and make screenshots harder to connect to the original SMS.

Save the message before you touch anything.

Take a screenshot that shows the sender, time, and full wording. Keep any link visible in the image without opening it. If money moved, save the payment receipt too.

Match the text against the reservation in OpenTable.

Look for the same restaurant, date, time, and party size in your account. If the text claims a booking that is not there, do not correct the sender with more personal data.

Stop texting if the sender asks for card digits, a CVV, or a one-time code.

Do not explain. Do not negotiate. A scammer wants one usable piece: the payment details, the login code, or the reset link that gets them into your account.

Text HELP to 36246 only from the 36246 thread.

The HELP response for this SMS program lists help.opentable.com. If your suspicious message came from a local number, do not move the conversation there. Keep the evidence separate.

Report the impersonation at help.opentable.com.

Send OpenTable the screenshot, sender, time received, restaurant name used, and any link shown in the text. Ask whether a real reservation, waitlist entry, receipt, or account notice exists on your account.

Call your payment provider if you already paid a fake OpenTable charge.

Tell them it was an impersonation using the OpenTable name and ask about reversal or card replacement. Then change your OpenTable password if you typed it into a linked page or shared a one-time code.