Guest Protection

[Katrina298]

I've come across what appears to be a very strange set up and wondered if anyone in this community could shed some light.
A friend has stumbled on a "too good looking to be true" two bed apt which was advertised for rent via private landlord.
The stipulation is that they must pay two months up front to Airbnb in order to view the property.  They then have two days to decide if they want it.  If not their money is completely refunded under the so-called Guest Protection Scheme.

I understand a one week holding deposit but two months before seeing the flat or receiving the keys seems highly suspect.  Nor do I see any documentation on the airbnb site confirming this arrangement (i.e. using airbnb as a kind of lettings agent for long term private lettings in the UK)

Has anyone heard about this and if so could you shed some light?

I'm not hopeful for her but she is insistent.

Thanks.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Katrina298 scam scam scam scam scam. Oh and by the way - Its a scam! This is a well known scam - Airbnb just doesn't operate this way. Any link purporting to be from Airbnb will be fake.

I hope you can convince your friend of this before they lose their money.

[Katrina298]

Thank you.  Luckily the ££ will have to come from me as she was flat hunting from abroad.  So glad I did the due diligence.

[Katrina298]

Where SHOULD I be reporting this in the UK?

[Sarah977]

@Katrina298  Make sure to report it also to the site the ad was found on.

And read up about how Airbnb works. Experienced Airbnb guests would know immediately that this is a scam, because this is not how you book on Airbnb.

[Katrina298]

Hi Sarah,

Yes I've tried to report this to Facebook Marketplace as this is where I found the original advertisement.  Of course scammers are slithering shape shifters so I've not received much more than a generic response to my request to take the matter further.  It seemed too good to be true to me and the airbnb angle just pushed me over the edge.  I think my friend is far more circumspect than before and I'll be using this forum more in future.

Thanks all.

Katrina

[Brian2036]

@Katrina298 

FRAUD.

They should report this to whatever appropriate authority exists in that area.

[Katrina298]

In the process of doing that right now.

[Anonymous]

@Katrina298  If you and your friend take a closer look at the listing, you'll find that it's not actually on the Airbnb platform - there are dozens of copycat sites made to look deceptively similar.

"Upfront payment to view the property" seems to be the most common scam going out there, and unfortunately the people who fall for it tend to never see the money again. The operators of these scams are usually working from overseas, using photos and specs harvested from real-estate websites and fake addresses. The local authorities can't really do anything about it, since the culprit is in a whole other country and the holder of the address has nothing to do with the scam. Once someone has wired money to these con artists, it's basically gone - they choose payment processes that make it almost impossible to get a chargeback. 

If your friend came across this listing via a mainstream platform, you can try tracking down the user account and reporting it. But the best thing you can actually do against scams like these is alert everyone you know - especially those looking for housing - about the red flags to watch out for. The internet will remain a dirty, largely unregulated place, so consumers are obliged to keep themselves informed about this stuff.

[Katrina298]

Hi Andrew,

The fact that I couldn't see the property at all on the platform was what sent me to investigate in the forum in the first place.

There are many snakes in the grass making things bad for honest hosts but with community support like this I'm sure we can keep most of the scammers at bay.

Thanks again.

Katrina

[Anonymous]

@Katrina298   Facebook itself is the biggest snake in the swamp. Just ask anyone who's ever worked there...