Beware the "Let's split the payment" scam

[Rich-and-Yan0]

Hi fellow hosts,

My wife and I are still relatively new hosts, just passing the 6-month mark about a week ago, but we have been following the hosting forums for much longer.

We have heard of various scams and scam attempts on Airbnb over the past few years, but this morning we were approached with what appears to be a new one--or at least, it was new to us. 

Basically, we got an email request for a long-term booking from this coming Tuesday, which seemed odd to us. Why, after all, would someone planning a long trip write on such short notice? The writer also claimed to be going on a business trip, which was another peculiarity. Our home is in the Algarve in southern Portugal, which is known for its climate, beaches and golfing--but not as a place people go on business trips. Even if they did, then we feel sure that they would have planned their trip more than three days in advance.

And then there was the language. Though the telephone number he secretly embedded in his mail was for an U.S. address in the state of New Jersey, his English (e.g. "Greetings. I am Alexander" and "But there is one moment that I would like to share with you") didn't sound like that of any American I've ever met.

Now here comes the really dodgy part: the writer claimed that he wasn't actually going to stay at our place, as he had a friend's house to stay at in Portugal but was getting paid by his company for accommodation costs. So, he said that if we were willing to accept his booking, then we could split the payment between us.

I'll post what he wrote at the end of this letter, but I'm sure that many of you are seeing "flags" already. Certainly we were.

So, I sent it on to a lawyer friend of mine who specialises in fraud, and she said that she has seen this recently and that it is a new variation on an old type of scam. Here's how it works. First, since it's low season and you don't have anyone booked, then you figure that it is a good deal for you and agree. Next, the person confirms the booking. After that, the guest asks you to transfer him half of the money for the booking. And then once the transfer to him is made--you guessed it--the guest cancels, and you are screwed. 

So that's it. And again, some of you hosts may have seen something like this before. But as I said, it was new to us, and so we thought that we should share it so that other hosts can be aware of it if it happens to them. 

The message he sent is pasted below. We would love to hear your thoughts. (Oh, and if anyone knows how we can report this to Airbnb, then please let us know.)

Rich & Yan

Greetings! I am Alexander. Soon I'm having a business trip to Portugal. I was looking through Airbnb to find some apartments there and would like to book your apartment. But there is one moment that I would like to share with you. I have a plan to stay at my friend's home once I'm there and not to check into your apartment at all. Here's my proporsal. Book your apartment, never move into it and just share the rental fee my employer is going to pay as a part of my business trip expenses. You can just have some money for doing nothing. If you are interested, please get back to me soon. Text me in whattsap. This is my numbra pluus oonnnee ssevven thrre ttwwwo thhrree ssiixx zzeroo siixx niinee ninne ffiifee. Waiting for an answer.

[Sarah977]

@Rich-and-Yan0  I really have no problem with a guest who I have had a good experience with booking outside the platform. There are tons of hosts who list on multiple platforms, as well as having their own website (I don't). I would never make an off-site deal with someone who was a stranger to me, but  once I know them, I have a good sense of whether they are an honourable person, as I'm sure you do, as well. If Airbnb was really our partner, and backed hosts up when they had damages or people breaking their house rules, it would be different, but I trust my own judgement of people I know far more than I trust Airbnb to have my back.

I give all my good guests my personal email address and tell them if they are ever interested in coming again, to just email me. Airbnb doesn't own my relationship with a guest once their Airbnb booking has come to an end.

However, any guest who has messaged me for the first time, trying to get me to book off-platform, by sending their phone number or whatsapp, I have told I only communicate through the Airbnb platform. Some I have reported.

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Sarah977 Yes, we may do the same in future, but we're still fairly new to hosting and feel a bit tentative about doing business outside of the platform, even with a guest we're comfortable with. Perhaps we will loosen up after awhile, but for now, it just seems safer to keep business on the site.

[Sarah977]

@Rich-and-Yan0  For sure hosts should do things in whatever way makes them feel most comfortable. I have a home-share, so I have a lot of interaction with my guests, and most stay at least a week, so it's a lot easier for me to have a good sense of what kind of person a guest is than someone who rents an entire place. 

[Alex6754]

@Rich-and-Yan0 and others.

Hello fellow hosts and greetings from São Paulo Brazil. I was contacted 2 days ago by Marcoo from bnb with the same fraudulent message, to contact him outside the platform to a check whatsapp number, i immediatly remembered marco from tropoya from that liam neeson movie hehehehehe. Anyhow since covid 19 has ruined my business and i have not much to do i tagged along out of curiosity to see how far this scam goes, Marco(from tropoya) offered me the following:  

I can book your accommodation at higher prices, you will take 20% of the amount to yourself, and you will return 80%
No one will actually live in the apartment
One reservation will be about $ 1000-3000
You will receive $ 200-600

Do you think this is possible?

And I see how people would get blind from that proposal, i havent had a guest in 3 months, my bills are stacking up and this guy offers me $600 a week to do nothing(he said that if the first transaction goes well he will keep me as a fraudulent partner until february 2021).

So he asks the link to my accomodation and i sent it, he then replied with commands that i have to change in my listing: 

If you agree we can work like this.
1. You raise prices to €120 per night in all period to the end of February 2021.
2. You make €70 for extra guest. So the more guests – higher price of daily rent.
3. Please turn off weekly and monthly discount if you have such.
4. Reservations will be started in 5-7 days. Booking will be done only through airbnb
5. We make a reservation and divide the profit after you get a payout from airbnb.
6. Then we can make a new booking and so on

And i was like, my room costs R$ 70 br reais a night, thats like 15 euro at most and this guy is asking me to change it to 190 euro( 120+ 1 guest)

a night, that is gonna raise some suspicion from his so called employer so i asked and he replied:

I understand you and appreciate our cooperation. I will try to explain how it works. It looks like this: An employee is looking for suitable housing for him, makes an application to the travel department for reservation. And the employee reserves it for his money, but the company then pays these expenses to the guest (employee from the travel department.) This is convenient for my company, because there is no direct connection with the reservation. It also works with flights, transportation and food. The company later pays the receipt officer.

His whatsapp profile photo is from a so called Green development company but I saked for his company name and he sent me Metia inc.

So I was like ok lets do it and then he asked for more account changes:

My travel department has a few requirements for apartments that I will book:
1. 1 night minimum for booking – please check it
2. Instant booking ON – please check it and select instant booking option
3. There should be the same prices for a period from July till February, please check it

Did all that he asked and 10 minutes later i recieve an inquiry from Guarav Pahuja(no photo)

Wanting to rent my place for 14 days with the payout of i kid you not 2.580 Euros. With that kind of money you can rent my place for a year and will throw in my girlfriend as a bonus hehehehehe. So Mr Guarav asked a lot of questions about the place and surroundings and then booked from february 1 to the 15th of 2021, why?  Marco instructed me like this:

There was booking made, later there will be request to change dates so that check in will be one of coming days. it is because of covid trips are recomended to pospone without urgent need, then after reasonable request it is got changed, you'll just need to accept the request for dates change.
Also before dates will be changed please do not touch prices so that change would take the same number of days for the same amount. Thanks🙏.

And this morning the reservation was asked to be changed to july1 2020, so wednesday in 2 days the scam will start. Im still confused if they are trying to launder money through stolen credit cards and using the hosts as fallguys after we deposit their share through transfer wise(thats what he suggested) or an elaborate scheme of show off payment and then cancel after you transfer but im curious. As soon as the story develops ill come back to let you guys know what happened. Stay tuned friday or saturday the latest ill come back to post the result of this elaborate scam.

For the people wondering, if i actually recieve that ridiculous amount of money in my account i intended to go to the police with all the evidence i have to report it.

 See you guys and stay strong, just 6 more months of misery until this goes away 😞

[Alex6754]

@Rich-and-Yan0 and others

Hello fellow hosts and greetings from São Paulo Brazil. I was contacted 2 days ago by Marcoo from bnb with the same fraudulent message, to contact him outside the platform to a chech whatsapp number, i immediatly remembered marco from tropoya from that liam neeson movie hehehehehe. Anyhow since covid 19 has ruined my business and i have not much to do i tagged along out of curiosity to see how far this scam goes, Marco(from tropoya) offered me the following: 

I can book your accommodation at higher prices, you will take 20% of the amount to yourself, and you will return 80%
No one will actually live in the apartment
One reservation will be about $ 1000-3000
You will receive $ 200-600

Do you think this is possible?

And I see how people would get blind from that proposal, i havent had a guest in 3 months, my bills are stacking up and this guy offers me $600 a week to do nothing(he said that if the first transaction goes well he will keep me as a fraudulent partner until february 2021).

So he asks the link to my accomodation and i sent it, he then replied with commands that i have to change in my listing: 

If you agree we can work like this.
1. You raise prices to €120 per night in all period to the end of February 2021.
2. You make €70 for extra guest. So the more guests – higher price of daily rent.
3. Please turn off weekly and monthly discount if you have such.
4. Reservations will be started in 5-7 days. Booking will be done only through airbnb
5. We make a reservation and divide the profit after you get a payout from airbnb.
6. Then we can make a new booking and so on

And i was like, my room costs R$ 70 br reais a night, thats like 15 euro at most and this guy is asking me to change it to 190 euro( 120+ 1 guest)

a night, that is gonna raise some suspicion from his so called employer so i asked and he replied:

I understand you and appreciate our cooperation. I will try to explain how it works. It looks like this: An employee is looking for suitable housing for him, makes an application to the travel department for reservation. And the employee reserves it for his money, but the company then pays these expenses to the guest (employee from the travel department.) This is convenient for my company, because there is no direct connection with the reservation. It also works with flights, transportation and food. The company later pays the receipt officer.

His Whatsapp pic is from green development but when i asked he said he worked at Metia inc.

So I was like ok lets do it and then he asked for more account changes:

My travel department has a few requirements for apartments that I will book:
1. 1 night minimum for booking – please check it
2. Instant booking ON – please check it and select instant booking option
3. There should be the same prices for a period from July till February, please check it

Did all that he asked and 10 minutes later i recieve an inquiry from Guarav Pahuja(no photo)

Wanting to rent my place for 14 days with the payout of i kid you not 2.580 Euros. With that kind of money you can rent my place for a year and will throw in my girlfriend as a bonus hehehehehe. So Mr Guarav asked a lot of questions about the place and surroundings and then booked from february 1 to the 15th of 2021, why?  Marco instructed me like this:

There was booking made, later there will be request to change dates so that check in will be one of coming days. it is because of covid trips are recomended to pospone without urgent need, then after reasonable request it is got changed, you'll just need to accept the request for dates change.
Also before dates will be changed please do not touch prices so that change would take the same number of days for the same amount. Thanks🙏.

And this morning the reservation was asked to be changed to july1 2020, so wednesday in 2 days the scam will start. Im still confused if they are trying to launder money through stolen credit cards and using the hosts as fallguys after we deposit their share through transfer wise(thats what he suggested) or an elaborate scheme of show off payment and then cancel after you transfer but im curious. As soon as the story develops ill come back to let you guys know what happened. Stay tuned friday or saturday the latest ill come back to post the result of this elaborate scam.

For the people wondering, if i actually recieve that ridiculous amount of money in my account i intended to go to the police with all the evidence i have to report it.

 See you guys and stay strong, just 6 more months of misery until this goes away 😞

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Alex6754 I have to agree with @Sarah977's reply below on this. While it was amusing to read how far they were willing to go with this, you have to understand as well that this person has basically admitted to you that he has the intention of defrauding his company out of money. We all know, of course, that the company he is referring to doesn't really exist, but that's not the point--he told you that he was planning to commit fraud, which is a felony offence in virtually every country in the world, and you agreed to go along with it.

So yes, you did mention that you would turn this into the police, but why go to all that trouble, and risk getting yourself kicked off of Airbnb for your efforts? The smartest thing for you to do now would be to say, "Sorry, Marco, I think that I misunderstood your intentions. I'm no longer interested in this arrangement." Then report it to Airbnb so that they can cancel the booking (which won't affect your cancellation rate), and then hope that the whole thing goes away--because if you really think you're still going to be making money out of this, then I think you're going to be in for a big, unpleasant surprise...

[Sarah977]

@Alex6754  You should never have gone along with this in any way. You simply should have reported it to Airbnb. Now you have gotten yourself in a situation where if this comes to Airbnb's attention, they will delist you from the platform, because as far as they will be able to see, you were willing to go along with the scam.

[Adam257]

Hello eveybody, i also start to receive this kind of messages way before the entire Covid Situation. I knew it wasI know about the cupon thing as i become friends with one of the guys that i am colaborating a scam and i just pre approved and let it be, maybe the clicked accept by mistake :)) You guys sayed that it a a problem with the source of their money. Is not this responsibility that gets on Airbnb side. I mean since they manage all the payments why should I give money back if the card was discovered a stolen one or a fraud. 

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Adam257 This is, of course, a judgement call. If you want to take the payment even if it you suspect that it is coming from a stolen credit card or fraudulent transaction, that is your choice. However, you put yourself at risk of being banned from Airbnb for collaborating in the scam. You can try "playing dumb," saying that you didn't know what was going on and that they should have taken action themselves--and they might believe you. But I personally wouldn't think it was worth the risk.

[Adam257]

What i am stating is that i did not accept his proposal, i just pre approved the reservation and maybe it will go through. How can i know if the reservation is made with a stolen card or not ? I do not manage the payments, Airbnb does. As long as i am concerned , it's a request that i pre-approve and then it's Airbnb's job to verify the guest. I won't try to "play dumb" it's just the truth.

[Ronald356]

I thought it was real initially. Good that I read this thread. It is just tough right now as we are all paying for expenses without revenues. But glad this forum helped.

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Ronald356 We're glad to know that you didn't fall for this. But yes, hard times will bring out the bad people as well as the vulnerable ones, and so you really have to be careful. Stay safe--and stay sharp!