You’ve packed a bag, hopped a flight and caught a taxi through narrow unfamiliar streets trying to find the right address, with the kids impatiently in tow. But when you get there, and ring the bell as instructed, the man who answers isn’t your Airbnb host with a key for the sublet.
The dude has no idea what you’re talking about and tells you this address isn't an Airbnb. Or maybe the hotel room you thought was a suite fit for a king winds up to be more like a kid sized closet and the bed is actually a folding table with a comforter on it.
So… now what?
The unfortunate reality is that it's incredibly easy to copy-and-paste photos from real property listings, create fake websites, and even fake reviews in order to make a legitimate looking travel website with fake bookings.
If you've found yourself the victim of a fake booking site, the first thing to do is, find yourself a safe place to stay. From here, you're going to take the following steps to protect yourself and your data and make sure it never happens again.
First, document
Once you realize that you've fallen victim to a scam booking, your next immediate step is going to be to start documenting everything:
Start screenshotting all the communications, listing details, confirmation emails and payment receipts for the booking, listing, payments, entire process, text messages — all of it.
Save all the photos and descriptions you can find of the original listing, and make a timeline of all the events of the booking. What method of communication was used (chat boxes in an app, texts, email, phone calls) and note the dates and times they happened. Try to save as much detail of everything that occurred as you can.
Second, cancel the charges
Next, contact your financial institution and report the fraudulent charges to them. Let your credit card or bank know about the fraud and request a chargeback or dispute the transaction as soon as possible.
If you think there may be any further unauthorized access on your card, you can also ask to have your card frozen, though that will also prevent you from using it which may make things difficult if you also need it.
Keep in mind when traveling or purchasing anything online, credit cards generally offer better fraud protection than debit cards so whenever possible try to use them then pay them off as soon as possible.
Third, contact the booking company
If you found a fake listing on a legitimate platform, then report the listing to the platform ideally within 24 to 48 hours.
Contact their customer service and provide them with all the details from your timeline. Follow their fraud reporting procedures, and document your interactions with them as well and add that to your timeline.
Fourth, file reports
Within 72 hours, make sure you’ve also filed any official reports with federal agencies. You can contact the FTC at ReportFraud.FTC.gov, and file a complaint with the Internet Crime Complaint Center at IC3.gov.
If there's a significant enough amount of money involved, you may also wish to contact local law enforcement, and you should also try your state's Attorney General's office.
Again, keep notes and details of who you contact and when and add this information to your timeline.
Fifth, monitor your accounts
Lastly, monitor your accounts and identity – from bank and credit card statements, to check for unauthorized charges, to requesting credit reports where you’ll be checking for suspicious activity. Additionally, it's not a bad idea to change passwords for any and all accounts that were involved, like the booking site involved, and set up fraud alerts with credit bureaus.
Keep in mind, if you have a comprehensive antivirus software package, it might offer features that could be helpful, from dark web monitoring or identity monitoring, to a VPN for traveling, or scam protection for suspicious websites.
How to stay safe from Airbnb and booking scams
Now that you've taken care of the immediate issue, here's how to make sure that you can spot a booking or travel scam in the future.
There are particular red flags you should be on the look out for when it comes to property listings and booking sites. When it comes to listings, be suspicious of:
- Any listing that has a price far, far below the other listings in the area.
- Anything that has very few photos, or only has extremely professional photos that look like it might have been Photoshopped.
- Any listing that lacks a street address or only has general area descriptions.
- Any listing that demands payment in large upfront sums, demands full payment before arrival or request payment outside of the platform in methods like wire transfer, crypto currency, or gift cards.
- Any listing that has no contact information for the property beyond the initial booking contact information, and listing without a clear cancellation policy or any listing that has extremely strict terms for the stay.
- Any listing that has a lack of recent reviews, or reviews that use extremely general language (i.e. "It was great!").
When it comes to shady booking sites, there are other things to look out for there, for example be concerned:
- If there is no secure payment processing (no https or padlock icon).
- If there is missing contact information, missing terms of service or missing privacy policies.
- If the website design seems unprofessional or elementary in design, or has broken links.
Be aware of the increase in vacation and booking scams
It's particularly worth knowing these signs as more and more scams appear on Airbnb and other booking sites – particularly around heavy travel times like holidays. Scammers aren't against using every tool they have, including AI, to create even more realistic looking listings to convince their targets and leverage social media to make "too good to be true" style offers.
Airbnb in particular has worked with Get Safe Online to help raise awareness of how to spot booking scams, especially around the holiday seasons. They echo many of the same tips we've included above and add that you should always trust your instincts – if something seems suspicious or off, then just walk away.
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