Scam Alert

[Leanne99]

Hi,

I just received a booking enquiry which looks very suspicious.

it’s from someone in Milan supposedly but given Australia’s borders are largely shut, I don’t think that’s likely they want to stay in Adelaide right now.

The message contains typos and a request to copy and paste from a link to check my or similar listing - I’ve copied it below minus the full link.

It was flagged by Airbnb and I’ve clicked report and decline.

**Update (15 min later) - they just sent a second identical request which I’ve also reported.

Can anyone confirm it’s a scam?

Thanks,

Leanne

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi,

My name Carla, 36 years from Milan, Italy. I need to stay for 10 nights in your place, is amazing and more than perfect for me. I have s0me doubts and i want to clarify first of all. I've found another listing simolar with yours with more rep0rts and i need to know.

Below you have to see 2nd listing:

Link begins >> abnl.me./https://airbnb.
(etc - I removed rest of link in case it gets accidentally clicked by someone in the community centre -  Leanne)

You need to copy the lnk to your WEB BR0WSER then you will be able to see it!
Check this and let me know urgently.

Thank you,

[Alexandra316]

@Leanne99 it's a common phishing scam. Good for you for catching and reporting it: you definitely did the right thing! 

[Sarah977]

@Leanne99  Yes,  it's a bad scam. If you click on their link, they somehow steal your account info and can redirect your payouts.

[Leanne99]

Thanks @Alexandra316 @and @Sarah977 .

Airbnb have now sent me an email to say the account has been removed.

I notice that also removed the scammer’s messages from my mailbox.

[Leanne99]

Hi Leanne,

We noticed you were recently in contact with an account that has since been removed for violating our Terms of Service. To help keep your account secure and in good standing, please be aware of these types of scam activity:

• Being asked to book your listing by someone who says they don’t have plans to stay there and requests that you refund a portion of their payment back to them. These are signs of an attempt to transfer money acquired illegally, and there are serious consequences for all parties involved. If you participate in this type of transaction by accepting the booking request, you won’t be paid out for the reservation and could be permanently removed from Airbnb.

• Being sent a message that contains a fake Airbnb link. These links lead to fraudulent web pages that try to steal your information by asking you to enter your account login and password. Fake links are designed to look similar to real Airbnb links and often include 'airbnb' in the URL. Avoid clicking links or buttons in messages and never share your login and password. If you already responded or entered your account details, update your password immediately.

• Being asked to communicate or pay outside of Airbnb prior to booking, including over the phone, email, other websites or messaging platforms such as WhatsApp.

If you observe similar behaviour or receive any of these types of messages, report themright away.

To learn more about recognising and avoiding scams, visit our Help Centre.

Thanks,

The Airbnb Trust & Safety team

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Sent with ♥ from Airbnb

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[Sarah977]

@Leanne99  All these types of scam messages are not I believe, sent by random individuals. They all read exactly the same and I think it's some international cybercrime organization that creates fake profiles and mass messages these to hosts.

It's good you're aware of it now.