Internet scams are known to be a dime a dozen. But this scam is particularly bold: criminals use a sophisticated trick to hunt down holidaymakers. A victim describes what happened.
Sun, beach and sea! For thousands of Tyroleans, the holiday season is already in full swing, while others are still heading south for a short time, also due to the dreary weather of the past few days. Herbert Huber (name changed by the editors) is one of those last-minute travelers. “We booked a nice hotel via booking.com” “I spontaneously decided to take a weekend trip to Italy with my girlfriend and booked a nice hotel via Booking.com “, says the 31-year-old Tyrolean. As usual, the reservation went off without any problems. “I keep coming back to this portal because I think it’s simply the best,” emphasizes Huber. But suddenly the Tyrolean’s online inbox received an alleged message from the hotel. “The credit card didn’t work and the reservation had to be declined,” the 31-year-old read in the email. Kindly enough, the accommodation that the Tyroleans opted for immediately sent a link through which the amount of money can apparently be released. “I became skeptical and called the hotel directly,” Huber had the right instinct. Because with the supposed message with the renewed payment request, crooks naturally had their fingers in the pie. “The criminals are likely to use hacked or compromised booking accounts to try to get guests who have booked rooms to transfer the hotel costs a second time,” the experts from “Watchlist Internet” are also familiar with the latest scam of online scammers. Increased caution is advised Since the hackers have access to the booking accounts of the affected hotels, the messages are actually sent via the portal’s e-mail addresses – only with a fake link. Therefore, one should be skeptical when booking hotels on the Internet, as with other online businesses be. That’s the only way you can enjoy your vacation.
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