Host account hacked - payout changed

[Anna9692]

Hello Airbnb hosts

My hosting account was hacked back in September of 2019, I'm guessing during a  reported system wide security breach when hosts were able to see other hosts information. My payout information was switched to a fake PayPal account with an unresolved domain name.( batterhome.com)

The hacker was able to switch OFF  all the push notifications, as they switched payments between my bank account and this PayPal account several times over the course of October and November.  I  received no notifications to my email, each time the switch happened. When I ran my quarterly report end of Dec, is when I noticed this. Upwards of 15K has been redirected to this fake account

I have contacted PayPal and had them close that account

I have been calling airbnb everyday, and they keep saying the case is being handled by Trust and Security. No real answers or responses from this team. 

Has anyone else seen something like this and what actions have you taken to recover the stolen money.  Is there any recourse?

I assume I am not the only one this has happened to

I look forward to hearing anything from the community

[Maurizio431]

Hello all,

I too was the victim of this type of hacking. It seems that the vulnerability was my email account which had a few customized filters in place to automatically junk Airbnb related emails, then with access to my account accounts they quickly changed my PIN and security answers in the 2FA. I missed an email that said there was a unauthorized access from New Jersey, but disregarded it because i frequently travel and also use a VPN for added security.

They then requested Payoneer debit cards and i was technically locked out of changing or viewing my payout preferences. I have been hosting for years and i guess i let my guard down and was not vigilant, always checking on my payout preferences and the hackers got away with thousands of dollars of bookings.

I contacted Airbnb and they quickly noticed the issue and got the account back to normal and they were quick to unblock and normalize the account. But my PIN and Security answers in the 2FA are still not my own.  I changed my email account password and my Airbnb password, but i still feel the account is not safe because i don’t have 2FA in place due to the hacked PIN and Security questions which i cannot edit without knowing the current PIN and Security Questions. I've asked for help so many times, and there has been no solution. I don’t want to delete my account because we have many years of positive reviews.

This is still a ongoing issue and is under review now by Trust. I don't know if there is some recourse or a way to make a claim on those lost funds, but we will try and be optimistic. We still feel very exposed seeing that the 2FA hack has not been remedied. 

But the lesson is to always be checking the sender on all Airbnb related emails before clicking anything.

Check your email preferences for any incoming email filters for anything suspicious which could junk or divert your emails. 

Check and confirm your payout preferences regularly to ensure their accuracy. There could also be a way to set up notifications with your bank to alert you when deposits are made.

Use strong passwords and change them in the event you notice anything suspicious.

And certainly don't use the same password for your email and Airbnb account.

It really feels like a betrayal when your personal details like the first school you attended is not the correct answer anymore and your livelihood is so easily diverted or compromised.

I hope i can report a positive outcome from this situation, but it looks so far like a very costly lesson in account security. I will remain positive and hope to hear back from Airbnb and the Trust department soon. I really hope there is a way to be reimbursed on these fraudulent payouts.  Any suggestions or similar experiences would be a great help.

Stay safe and happy hosting!

@Randy489 

@Erica-And-Paul0 

@Glenda132 

@Brian 

@Catherine-Powell 

@Anna9692