Scam alert! How can I make sure a listing is real?

[Kim207]

This will be my first time using Airbnb so I'm a bit weary about listings being fake.

What can I do to make sure a listing is real and not a scam?

What should I be looking out for?

Thanks

[Alyssa259]

it’s my first time using airbnb, is this one legit? please help, i need input. https://abnb.me/1cFDhRxsKdb

[Alyssa259]

@Sarah977 

[Alyssa259]

Sarah977

can you check this link out for me!! it’s my first time using this app. i’ve heard good things but i’m scared of getting scammed.

https://abnb.me/IwEz2uQsKdb

[Sarah977]

@Alyssa259  That is a real Airbnb listing although it appears to be new and has no reviews yet. But the host has other properties which have good reviews and they certainly don't read like some fake reviews she somehow got her friends to write.

It's perfectly acceptable and advisable for a guest to use the Contact Host option below the listing description to send the host an Inquiry message asking any questions you might have and to get a feel for the host, and that doesn't commit you in any way.  As long as you get a timely, friendly response that doesn't send up any red flags, and don't try to deal outside the platform, like through whatsapp or something, there's no reason to fear getting scammed.

It's the places that guests find on another site, like Craigslist or others where you email the host and they email you back with some long story about using Airbnb for the first month and send you a look-alike URL to a fake Airbnb page and ask you to wire them money or ask for your credit card number where people get scammed. It's very unusual to get scammed if you go through the official Airbnb site to start with.

[Cyrhyll-Joice0]

Hi @Cynthia-and-Chris1 @@@have communicated with a host here in UAE. She said she's currently in UK and I can have the whole apartment while she's not in the country. She has 11 reviews, 5 stars and a superhost verified. But the problem is she's asking me through a wire transfer to a bank account and told me that method is "via airbnb". Could you help me? Here's the link of her listi

https://airbnb.ae-longterm-united-arab-emirates139552kl520.directory/676f/master-bedroom-corniche-ro...

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Cyrhyll-Joice0 Its a scam at worst and a dodgy deal at best. Don't do anything outside of the Airbnb platform unless you are willing to lose your money and. have nowhere to stay.

[Sarah977]

@Cyrhyll-Joice0  This isn't a host, it's a scammer. The website they are sending you to is most likely a fake look-alike site. The reviews and Superhost are fake. 

You never pay for an Airbnb with a wire transfer to a bank account, never ever.

Stop communicating with this criminal.

[Cyrhyll-Joice0]

@Sarah977 @Mike-And-Jane0  thank you so much for the prompt feedback!! Greatly appreciated, big help!

[Irene975]

Hi there @Sarah977! Could you let me know if the following posting is legit, or if it is a scam?

https://www.airbnb.es/rooms/49177493?check_in=2021-08-20&check_out=2021-08-25&guests=8&adults=8&s=13...

Thank you very much in advance!

[Sarah977]

@Irene975  When I click on that link, it doesn't take me to any listing, it just goes to the Airbnb homepage, so something is strange.

[Agnieszka70]

Hi  @Sarah977  can you please check if this is a legit?  The host owns 3 properties but there is only one review...

https://www.airbnb.co.uk/rooms/43962560

[Sarah977]

@Agnieszka70  That is a listing on the real Airbnb site. The scams you see talked about here are not found on the real Airbnb site- people find them on some other site and email the scammer who sends them to a fake look-alike site with a URL that isn't Airbnb.

So I have no way of knowing whether a place that is listed on Airbnb is "real". The listing says he has been renting for 12 years, so if that's true, he would have been renting through other rental sites or there would be more reviews. There aren't any red flags on it for me, and the fake ones usually have lots of fake reviews, not just one review.

Just send an inquiry message and communicate with the host a bit to feel it out. Ask some questions and see if you get answers which set your mind at ease. Also make sure you read through all the house rules- I don't know how old you are, but it says the booking guest has to be over 30.

When you book through Airbnb, the company holds your payment until a day after check-in before releasing it to the host, so that's the safeguard for guests. The way unsuspecting people get scammed out of their money is by not knowing how Airbnb works and sending money directly to scammers.

[Agnieszka70]

@Sarah977 thanks for your reply. We sent an email and the host answered to all our questions. So the holidays have now been booked  😉

[Geoff385]

https://abnb.me/MlADbaq6Afb

[Francisco1321]

https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/35830880?check_in=2021-05-28&check_out=2021-05-31&adults=12&source_impr...

real or fake