New Russian scam?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

I just got a private message saying :

Hello, see my ad PLS

hello, can you help me somehow, I'm from Ukraine, the city of Kharkov, a shell hit my house and I live on the street, help if it's not difficult
And tell your friends about me

I’m Ivan https://abnb.me/zcyQgkZFwob

(and a lot of emojis sad smileys, hearts, Ukrainian flags...)

OK, I clicked on the link and the listing is in Cyrillic font so I went to change it to English, and the first thing I noticed was it is written in RUSSIAN with currency in ROUBLES. I checked and yes, Airbnb has a Ukrainian language option as well

Then I noticed the listing is brand new, March 22, no reviews whatsoever, but he has ID verified, phone and email, and the guy says he is a programmer

I am not convinced, are you?

[Kitty-and-Creek0]

Not convinced...

[Emiel1]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

The link to the listing points to .ru domain, so then text will be automatically in Russian language, with roebels as default currency. 

But offcourse the link should have pointed to the .ua (ukraine) domain or even the .com domain for a broader audience.

The listing is indeed new and has available dates to book, which is strange if host "lives on the street".

So maybe ask some more questions to determine it is a ligitimate request.

What kind of help is this person is looking for ? Housing ?

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Emiel1  I suppose Ivan heard about Airbnb hosts who are booking Ukrainian listings using Airbnb superhost cupons. They don't intend to travel to Ukraine just to help their hosts earn some money in difficult times. Probably he thought he could get such bookings as well.

I didn't answer, he contacted me privately here on CC and I shared his entire message.

[Mark116]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  I got one also here on CC, same thing, saying they were from Ukraine.

@Quincy @Stephanie FYI is there anything we should do here?

[Pat271]

Airbnb has recommended that we not use this method to help the Ukrainians.

Instead, use this link to donate.

https://www.airbnb.org/help-ukraine

Halfway down is the section on donations. A real benefit is that Airbnb will match your donation until March 31.

@Stephanie @Quincy  Please confirm that this is the recommended way that Airbnb hosts can help the Ukrainians.

[Quincy]

That's correct @Pat271.

[Z-2]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 I won’t do the reservation with such new host. I did book a reservation use my super host coupon. But I picked one having many reviews, so I know she is a real host. For the new one, you don’t know if they are scammers or not.

[Till-and-Jutta0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 If you want to help, you might donate to donate to Airbnb.org.

Personally I would not recommend to book any more not-stay listing. 

[Kia272]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  I've gotten two of those already. I reported them. They are obviously scammers. 

I did my part by booking a couple of days with an established host in Ukraine. 

There are people in this world who knock down old ladies in the street to steal their purses. These parasites will never go away. 

[Colleen253]

Total scam. 

[Huma0]

@Branka-and-Silvia0 

I got a message I believe from the same Ivan:

hello, can you help me somehow, I'm from Ukraine, the city of Kharkov, a shell hit my house and I live on the street, help if it's not difficult
And tell your friends about me
I’m Ivan 🥺😢❤️

https://abnb.me/zcyQgkZFwob

[Sarah977]

@Branka-and-Silvia0  I got one, too, today. I told him that hosts are only donating to already established Ukranian hosts. Then he messaged again saying he can "prove" he's legit, but only the first few lines on that came through and it was obviously a cut and paste. 

I told him to not contact me again. 

@Stephanie  Can you ban this person who's spamming our PM boxes?

[Kate867]

I also got this identical message… twice!  I just replied politely stating that we had made reservations elsewhere and made some suggestions as to where he could go for help.

[Gordon0]

Unless burning Superhost coupons, the direct approach was - IMO - a little short sighted and rewarded those with the ability to host, not their penniless neighbours. DEC do a much better job of making sure the right people get the money/support.