Hacked accounts, fake identity, etc.

[Dev4]

Hello Hosts, 

Lately, I have received a few bookings (Instant Reservations) where Airbnb Account details are hacked and the "imposter" is either pretending to be original account holder or change phone number, name and photos on the original account. The first time I experienced this was in September 2016. The "guest" showed up but did not present a valid ID at the time of check-in. The argument got ugly and I had to threaten to call the cops to handle the situation. Since then I have had a few such cases. Common trends:

1. Last minute reservations and the guests have a sense of urgency to obtain keys

2. Last review/s are older than 12 months. So the account is not used frequently. 

3. Multiple identity photos or unclear photos

4. Phone number is not reachable, and/or aren't willing to talk on the phone

5. Inconsistencies for the "purpose" of visit

The cases are increasing and "imposters" are getting smarter by covering many variables that hosts would check for validation. 

Has anyone experienced this? How do you deal with "imposters"?

[Jeet0]

Hi @Dev4,

Thanks for flagging this, this is scary. I haven't encountered an imposter on Airbnb, but I hope you reported the guest profile to Airbnb and got it banned.

Thanks,

Jeet

[Dev4]

@Jeet0

Yes, I have reported the profiles to Airbnb. But it takes sometime for Airbnb/"real" account owner to realize that the account was hacked. Since the account was hacked, we can't blame the account owner as it is not his/her fault. The "imposter" does not reveal their true identity and sometimes use a fake identity so that their identity is not compromised or reported to Law enforcement. There is nothing much one can do as a host, except, being vigilant. 

[Julian76]

Yes! We are in the middle of an imposter situation right now. Police are on the way to our residence. We're not sure how it's going to play out. Very upsetting as we are out of town. 

[Lizzie]

Hey @Julian76,

This sounds like an upsetting situation. Did you get this all sorted out?

I hope everything is OK.

Lizzie

[Marit-Anne0]

Oh, yes - I have had three of those in the last two weeks, so they seem to be mushrooming. The latest this morning.

I just keep my fingers crossed that the last one was for real - it does seem odd for someone to book 2 weeks in a specific city when most think 3 days is too much.

[Eric1046]

This is a flaw in the AirBNB security.  A complete stranger can hack or borrow an AirBNB account and the host has no idea who is staying on the property. AirBNB should allow hosts to verify prospective guests by simply clicking a "verification" tab. This would require the guest to photograph their ID and send it through AirBNB. Its no problem if the person requesting accommodation is the account holder.