Airbnb "Be careful with this request" warning - cant proceed

[Scott1300]

I have an instant booking where the verified user provided his phone #.  Not sure why the # is not blocked by Airbnb, but now there's a permanent warning message (link) box that shows

["Be careful with this request. Tell us if this is a problem or if everything is ok" . ]

Nothing happens when I click on the warning message and the page either can't load or shows an error telling me to refresh.  In addition, I can't message the user for additional info.  Is anyone else having the same issue or has experienced it in the past?

[Dale711]

@Scott1300 

It usually happens,  when the users provide the phone number or email address.

Inasmuch as, Airbnb doesn’t allow users to contact host by communication outside the platform. 

This is again violated the Airbnb terms and policy. 
Listing could be deactivated or limited access by contact users in above act.

[Scott1300]

@Dale711  thanks for your response.  Agreed the booking/message gets flagged as suspicious as it's against the terms & policy. What's strange is I'm not able to reply to the user via Airbnb messaging.  Hope this is just a temporary and not a permanent website's bug.  

[Linda108]

Is the booking still active?  If so, then customer service needs to assist with communication and there is a system .  Otherwise, perhaps Air BNB is taking steps to negate booking by guests "breaking the rules".

[Vildan4]

Airbnb customer service???  Where are they? How we can contact with them???

[Elaine701]

We've been getting this a lot more frequently lately. But it works. Clicking on it opens another box allowing you to report and decline. And that's what I always do. 

[Vildan4]

Hi

I am fairly new to Airbnb. I received a booking request from a guest and she wants to pay cash.  

Airbnb providing the “Be careful with this request” warning, and I am prohibited from even messaging the guests with further questions. My only option is to simply approve or decline their request. 

This is frustrating because I have things I want to ask her before approving or declining. Also I wanted to say I can't take cash. She needs pay by card to Airbnb.

If I do take cash how am I going to pay to Airbnb. She has got a good feedback from the other host. She wants to booking for tomorrow and I don't know what to do??? Losing money if I decline, if I accept how can we deal with this matter. Any way to do this? 

Airbnb web site is not great and helpful. They don't have Live Chat you can get quick answer. 

"Usually the "be careful" message is accompanied by an option "to report" or "to continue".

if you click "continue", you can communicate with the guest as normal." Unfortunately we do not have "to continue" option anymore. 

Thanks! 

[Louise1073]

That sounds really suspicious @Vildan4 , if you don’t want to accept cash then my advice would be to just decline the request. Sounds like more trouble than it’s worth!

[Vildan4]

Hi

Thank you. I declined.  I wished I was able communicate with her. Anyway declined now. Have a good day.

[Jenny]

Hi @Vildan4,

I'm glad you declined the booking, for your own safety.

Offline or cash payments are a violation of our Terms of Service and can result in removal from Airbnb. Off-site payments make it harder for us to protect your information and put you at greater risk of fraud and other security issues.

It's possible you weren't able to reply to her because Airbnb block suspicious messages - I think maybe key words about cash payment might have been picked up by the filter.

I'm sorry that you lost the booking, but really glad you didn't risk it, and hopefully you'll have plenty more bookings for your wonderful villa.

Jenny

[Sere511]

Hi Jenny, what if the reason is the potential guest provided the whatsapp number? Should I decline or pre-approve?