Hi All,
I was looking to book an accomodation in Amsterdam and came across a listing that seemed to fit in my budget. However, the host had posted some pictures with an overlay stating that the host needed to be contacted on a certain email ID before sending a booking request on AirBnB. This raised an alarm but I followed through to see how far this goes.
I received a response from the host stating that 'she' was out of town and that she was happy to let me book the apartment, but will initiate the booking herself on my behalf! - Second flag
The pictures she shared of the apartment were really nice, to an extent that it seemed too good to be true - Third flag
Now, next morning I received 3 emails - all that 'looked' like the ones AirBnB usually sends but only this time asking for a wire transfer to an 'AirBnB broker agent' account in Italy - with no service charges. The email was sent from an email ID that definitely was an external mail ID created for such dealings. One of the emails even said 'reservation confirmed' - Fourth flag
Last but not the least, I asked the host why am I being asked to wire the money outside of the AirBnB website and if my reservation is really confirmed, why doesn't it show on my upcoming travel list on the website. This is where the host started giving out about past experiences with card payment via Airbnb and how it was safe for me since the recipient was an AirBnB agent! I asked for my reservation to be cancelled and haven't heard from the host since.
Since then the listing has been deleted from AirBnB and none of the links, on the email I received earlier today, work now. They all worked in the morning and redirected me to the page of the listing on the site.
Adding details to this thread just incase the same details are used on some other listing on AirBnB...
[personal information removed]