ACCOUNT HACKED!

[Farah2]

and Airbnb does not seem to care at ALL! 

the hackers have changed my payout method to a different paypal account and I have been calling and emailing Airbnb since Monday when I found out about this. the hackers paypal still listed on my account and they have not lifited a fingure to help me or secure my account.

this is so FRUSTRATING and I feel so exposed. I am new to airbnb and just hosted 2 guests and have not received any payments yet and when I checked on my account I clearly see a different payout method for the payments and with my bank info still listed there.

this is a major security issue on Airbnb site which they dont seem to care. I can't even find any decent email account to send emails

Very disappointed and frustrated at Airbnb and will take this issue to social media. 

Farah

[Viktoria20]

Hi Alex, I just want to say that I am going to fight as well to get my payout back. If I'll not get any considerable news from them shortly, I am going to make a report to the police and take the lawyer. Also I am allready have some journalist in Italy, they are interested to make the story. We allready had here the news in TV about Airbnb and that things are not well with it. Also I am going to taulk with some journalists in London.

I am wondering if Airbnb take position that they are not responsible to protect our datas, so they can't ask such a sensible information from people. And whole idea of operating on Airbnb is extremely dangerous, .... any minute you are risking that your bank datas or money go to someone else pocket.  It's the same if the bank would told you after your bank account were hacked - we are sorry, we are not responsable.

[Alex448]

HEllo Victoria to Italy.... 

yes, it is very important do not give up.....  we have to to something....   i will write a letter to the headqurter to dublin as well and i givve them 10 days to solve the problem. if not, i will give it to my lawyer and i will put this in twitter and facebook and contact the german TV......

[Robin107]

Hi Viktoria,

 I just wrote to Alex and am copying it to you too.

Here is where I am with this problem:

I finally received a call at 10 pm on  June 13 from my "Case Manager" at Airbnb.

He said the "problem" had been fixed and that I wasn't "Hacked" but my account was "Compromised"   hahahha..same thing?? He didnt say how it was fixed but assured me the problem was solved.

The bottom line is that he says it has been all taken care of and that I would start getting my payments again.

Changed my password again, and they said they would resume sending me payments and I will get back the money that was lost.  When asked how soon, he said he didn't know for sure.

Anyway, my account all looked good and I kept looking at it throughout the days since the 13th to make sure nothing was getting changed, specifically my "payout method".  Checked it last night before I went to sleep again and it was still correct.

I had a guest check in yesterday so I new a payment would be dispersed today. (For over $1K)  When I woke up this am, I see a notification on my phone that says account info has been changed.  I logged in and sure enough my payout method was changed back to "IBAN"  (international bank acct) only this time, it was being sent to a different international acct number than it was the first 2 times.

I went in to re-add my acct and this time there was a 2-step security so it was going to send a code to my cell phone.  The problem was that the number it was going to send it to was an international phone number.  (not mine, and they had 2 different phone numbers on there)   I deleted those two and re-added mine back in.

Meanwhile, I may have lost another payment.  Not sure yet if it will go to IBAN or my 6442 US acct .

Also noticed that they have complete access to my entire account which has my name, my cell, my profile info, my home address, etc.

I called Airbnb asap and they re-opened the case but again don't know how long its going to take.

I have no idea what to do at this point or how they are accessing my account.  I have changed my pass code 3 times!  

I also called several news stations, tweeted all over the place, tweeted the CEO of Airbnb and have gotten nowhere.  I do use Airbnb and VRBO for my rental property but 98% of my bookings come from Airbnb.  I too am afraid they will close my account & my main sourse of income is my rentals otherwise I would just close the account.

I am still missing my May payouts and have not gotten anything for June yet.

Keep in touch, ok?  It helps to have someone to listen to each others frustration and anxiety over this situation.

[Clare0 · Accepted solution]

@Robin107 I've been reading your posts with great interest.  I'm wondering, have you changed your email password lately?  Emails are hacked / compromised all the time.  I change mine every six months just to be on the safe side.  Remember, Yahoo had a massive email attack just a few months ago and my LifeLoc security manager has notified me at least once that my email address was found on a  website presumably for sale. 😞

Also, do you check your log in history?  In order for anyone to access your Airbnb account, they have to log in.  You can find this under your profile under Security.  If you find a log in from a device / IP address that you don't use, log them out and then change your password.  You should receive an alert when you or anyone else logs in from a foreign (to you) device / browser.  For example, if I log in to my Airbnb account from a friend's IPad, I will get an alert from Airbnb telling me.  Be sure your email settings are not blocking alerts from Airbnb. 

Yes, technically I supposed that there is a difference between hacking and compromising an account.  Strictly speaking, hacking is done when someone uses computer software to access data illegally such as when Target credit card accounts were accessed.  Usually this is done on a massive scale.  Compromising an account normally is done on an individual account level and is done by gaining access to a particular account.  This can be done easily through public wifi that is not password protected such as in an internet cafe.  Someone sitting next to you can see what you are doing on your device and gain information that way.  There are other ways as well, such as clicking on an attachment in an email from someone you don't know. 

I wish you the best of luck and I'm very sorry you are going through this traumatic ordeal!

[Robin107]

Hi Clare,

Thanks for your note!

I have changed the password  3 times to very long complicated strings of numbers symbols and letters

I do check my login history and  have seen other peoples logins, I log them out ASAP.

Yes, I check ithe history & all my info on my acct constantly since this first happened on 6-1-17.  It has been hacked into 3 times now since June 1st. 

"You should receive an alert when you or anyone else logs in from a foreign (to you) device / browser. "   I do now but for about 1 month, I wasnt getting any emails from Airbnb.  It seems that when I first got hacked, they also found a way to block me from getting any notifcations.    Airbnb could not figure it out for 2 weeks.  Now I am getting notified.

Yes, technically I supposed that there is a difference between hacking and compromising an account.  Strictly speaking, hacking is done when someone uses computer software to access data illegally such as when Target credit card accounts were accessed.  Usually this is done on a massive scale.  Compromising an account normally is done on an individual account level and is done by gaining access to a particular account.  This can be done easily through public wifi that is not password protected such as in an internet cafe.  Someone sitting next to you can see what you are doing on your device and gain information that way.  There are other ways as well, such as clicking on an attachment in an email from someone you don't know. 

I dont use my laptop anywhere but home and I havent clicked on any unusual emails.

I wish you the best of luck and I'm very sorry you are going through this traumatic ordeal!

[Lisa699]

Wow Robin! SO sorry this has happened to you. Thank you sooo much for posting! This is helping me with an important decision. i will NOT be renting out our room using AirBnB. Thanks again to EVERYONE for all the informative responses.

PS. Has anyone else found it odd that this "Clare" is ALWAYS shifting the blame FROM AirBNB onto everyone else (the users) saying "must be phishing" or "how often do you change your email password".....she wants to think they (the thieves) are getting in ANY way OTHER than AIRBNB.....just seems wierd she cannot face the reality or EVEN the POSSIBILITY that AIRBNB is the weakest link when it comes to security! .... I don't profess to know what the issue is but I'm just sayin' it's wierd to be closed minded to the possibility that AirBnB might have some security issues.

[Natalie596]

@Clare0 stop gaslighting people in here. I was also just hacked and none of my other accounts were hacked. And I have not been active on Airbnb since Covid started and I’ve had everything blocked off and unavailable yet I was hacked today and someone was able to make a booking even though I was actively trying to deny it now they have access to my address directions to my house my picture my name... My email account is secure my PayPal secure my bank account is secure I have received no fishing emails. This is Airbnb’s problem and it’s a big problem. And it’s not our fault

[Kim292]

Hello,

I am going through the same thing. My payment method got changed a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully I caught it before I lost any payments to them. Then last night out of the blue, I got a verification code on my phone that i hadnt asked for. Sure enough i was logged out of my Airbnb apps and had to sign in on my computer. The payment method had been changed again and my last payment of 1500.00 went to an IBAN account in europe. I called Airbnb and got a girl in the Philippines that assured me that she would fast track this complaint.

I feel like I'm caught in a trap. I have many more bookings for the summer but no guarantee that I will get the money! What do we do?

Kim

[Noah25]

It's not hacked because AirBNB wasn't hacked.  It's compromised if your password and email are easily available online, and they probably are.  Check at http://www.haveibeenpwned.com.

[Robin107]

TO ALEX IN PALMA SPAIN:

Hi!  I just saw your message to me and literally had written you just a few minutes earlier about where you are with all this.  Sorry about that! I should have scrolled down!  

So I finally received a call at 10 pm on  June 13 from my "Case Manager" at Airbnb.

He said the "problem" had been fixed and that I wasn't "Hacked" but my account was "Compromised"   hahahha..same thing?? He didnt say how it was fixed but assured me the problem was solved.

The bottom line is that he says it has been all taken care of and that I would start getting my payments again.

Changed my password again, and they said they would resume sending me payments and I will get back the money that was lost.  When asked how soon, he said he didn't know for sure.

Anyway, my account all looked good and I kept looking at it throughout the days since the 13th to make sure nothing was getting changed, specifically my "payout method".  Checked it last night before I went to sleep again and it was still correct.

I had a guest check in yesterday so I new a payment would be dispersed today. (For over $1K)  When I woke up this am, I see a notification on my phone that says account info has been changed.  I logged in and sure enough my payout method was changed back to "IBAN"  (international bank acct) only this time, it was being sent to a different international acct number than it was the first 2 times.

I went in to re-add my acct and this time there was a 2-step security so it was going to send a code to my cell phone.  The problem was that the number it was going to send it to was an international phone number.  (not mine, and they had 2 different phone numbers on there)   I deleted those two and re-added mine back in.

Meanwhile, I may have lost another payment.  Not sure yet if it will go to IBAN or my 6442 US acct .

Also noticed that they have complete access to my entire account which has my name, my cell, my profile info, my home address, etc.

I called Airbnb asap and they re-opened the case but again don't know how long its going to take.

I have no idea what to do at this point or how they are accessing my account.  I have changed my pass code 3 times!  

I also called several news stations, tweeted all over the place, tweeted the CEO of Airbnb and have gotten nowhere.  I do use Airbnb and VRBO for my rental property but 98% of my bookings come from Airbnb.  I too am afraid they will close my account & my main sourse of income is my rentals otherwise I would just close the account.

Keep in touch, ok?  It helps to have someone to listen to each others frustration and anxiety over this situation.

[David126]

@Alex448

Your listing is still there.

[Alex448]

of course is my listing still there...  burt only after i was complaining. and than they put it online once more....  but NOBODY CAN BOOK MY ROOM.....¡¡!!  I TOLD THIS ALREADY MANY TIMES TO AIRBNB¿ BUT NOBODY TAKES CARE OF THIS AND NOBODY IS GIVING ME ANSWERS....

[Alex448]

Please, try to book my room......  you won t have any success.....

[Robin107]

Dear Farah,

Can you tell me if this problem was ever resolved for you?  

I am going through the same thing now.  It took 2 weeks to get a call back from Airbnb and they said it was taken care of.  I have now been hacked a third time as of this morning.  My payments are going to "IBAN" and acct out of the country. My password has benn changed 3 times and they still get in.

[Hassab2]

@Clare0, unless you are not who you say you are you have no idea what the extent of the security breach is.  If you've googled Airbnb account hacked lately, I think you'd see this is not a "here and there" situation.  That said, there are a few reasons why you might not just do a "whole enchilada" style approach:

1. they are not stealing credit cards, they are diverting funds and breaking in to homes.  This means that Airbnb doesn't necessarily need to report it to the credit card companies, is not a PCI issue, etc, so they are less likely to get caught.  The resources credit card companies devote to those kinds of hacks are significant.  They are avoiding that, which allows them to continue.

2. they likely just sold the data, rather than commit whatever crimes are necessary.  if there were no big fish takers in the criminal world, which there might not have been given this isn't credit card data, they would have broken it up into smaller packages more affordable to smaller time criminals.

3. just because they have the ability to break in doesn't mean they themselves are able, or even willing, to do  more than that.  Hackers have areas of expertise and risk comfort levels just like everybody else in the world.

I would be asking myself far more important questions. Questions like if Airbnb, which lists itself as a technology company, took until April 2017 to institute such basic security measures as two factor authentication (tech talk for having to verify password changes and logging in from different devices), what else haven't they done?  I'm sorry, that is way to obvious a hole to ignore.  Another question would be, if someone was phising, why did they go after my Airbnb account, which is in of itself valueless, instead of my bank account and credit cards?  Why not my ebay, etsy or any other account I have in the entire technology universe?  Airbnb is the ONLY account I had any problems with in the last 5 years.  Sorry, it's very clear to me where the security issues are, and it's not with the users.