On Airbnb, scammers are faking technical issues and citing higher fees to trick users into going to a fake Airbnb website. Tripadvisor and steal their money.
The constantly evolving world of online commerce offers opportunities, but also dangers. A recent discovery by Malwarebytes researchers sheds light on an ingenious scam targeting Airbnb users. Scammers posing as apartment owners are exploiting simulated technical glitches and imaginary fees to lure users to fake booking sites on Tripadvisor.
In the right place, at the right time to sniff out the scam
It all started after using an Airbnb account redirected to a fake version of TripAdvisor. Luckily, the account belonged to a Malwarebytes employee who caught wind of what was going on.
The apartment’s purported owner then attempted to redirect him to what he claimed was Tripadvisor, claiming that Airbnb was experiencing issues and that the fees on the old site were lower.
The ad was convincing enough: a luxury apartment in the city, owned by Carla Taddei, was available for 250 euros per night.
“ Currently we are experiencing technical difficulties with Airbnb’s calendar system, so we have decided to use tripadvisor.com as our primary platform. As the Airbnb platform has very high fees, I chose to only use tripadvisor.com », We can read in this email.
However, Malwarebytes BroswerGuard quickly alerted the employee about the scam and warned them not to take it any further.
To add credibility to the scam, the victim receives another email, apparently from the Tripadvisor platform, which encourages them to complete the reservation by following the shortened URLs in the first email.
“ The owner sent a follow-up email, stating that the reservation request had been sent and insisting that [le client] had to pay and send a confirmation before the reservation could be validated », Explain Malwarebytes researchers.
Unfortunately, these links point to a fake Tripadvisor website that asks the victim to register and enter their payment card details.
“ Further research based on the fake Tripadvisor website URL showed us that these scammers have likely been active for some time “, they continued, emphasizing that they found 220 websites linked to this scam.
The phenomenon is not limited to Airbnb: Malwarebytes believes it has detected 220 websites used for the same scam, including 26 that claim to be Tripadvisor and 194 that claim to be approved Tripadvisor accounts.
Guests looking for hotel rooms also risk having their payment card information stolen: in a recently documented scam, criminals choose to compromise hotels’ Booking.com accounts and contact victims potential through this means.
Airbnb and scams, an old story
Airbnb warns of the dangers of off-platform activities and off-site payments. Unfortunately, the most popular seasonal rental site is customary to this fact. We can no longer count the scams its customers have been victims of.
The company also explains how users can identify emails and websites impersonating Airbnb, and provides a helpful list of official Airbnb domains.
“ Scammers always try to create a sense of urgency so that you click before thinking », Add Malwarebytes researchers.
“ Don’t rush to make a decision. Double-check the website before entering any personal or financial information », they warn.
On its blog, one of Airbnb’s recommendations is not to make reservations outside the platform, which also includes communicating, sharing personal information, paying or requesting payment for a reservation. Off-site payments are only permitted if they have been approved in advance and guests have been informed prior to booking.
Spyware (or spyware in French) is malicious programs designed to collect personal information. Used for identity theft, financial fraud, or even activity surveillance, they can wreak havoc. To effectively combat spyware, it is essential to use dedicated antispyware or integrated into an antivirus security suite. Close-up on the best solutions to protect against this threat.
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Source : Helpnet Security, Malwarebytes, Airbnb
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