Phishing scam

[Tom3986]

I was contacted from the AirBNB Support number today. They let me know that somebody tried to log into my account and my payouts are on hold due to the attempt to access my account from an IP address that is not one of my usual ones. They told me that they wanted me to set up a dummy account, that will be an AirBNB account, for my payouts to go into. The money would still be deposited into my account, but having the money deposited into the AirBNB account would supposedly make it easier for AirBNB to catch the people trying to steal the money.  They knew the last 4 digits of the account that we use for deposits. So they had access to some data from the AirBNB system. The person calling had an Indian accent, like most of the people at AirBNB support. This and the fact that the call was coming from AirBNB Support, according to caller ID, made the call a little believable. The caller gave me their name and their Employee ID for me to verify. When I contacted AirBNB support they said that they are not allowed to give out their Employee ID and when they call they have to let us know that calls are recorded and ask our permission to continue the call. So if you get a call like this remember to never change where your money is going without verifying who you are talking first. Luckily for me, I did not change anything before calling AirBNB directly. 

[Joelle43]

Hello @Tom3986 

I can't believe this is still happening and am so glad that your instinct kicked but can see how easily a host could fall prey to such a demand.   In the link below you'll see just how many hosts have had attempts at being scammed by what is an official Airbnb customer service number but there are other posts too here on the CC relating to this same issue:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help-with-your-business/Airbnb-Scam-by-Scammer-Posing-as-Airbnb-...

@Bhumika @Rebecca - could you tell us please if Airbnb are at least investigating these fraud attempts and how is it possible that the calls emanate from an official Airbnb number?  Thank you!

[Bhumika · Accepted solution]

Hi @Joelle43  - yes, we can confirm that Airbnb is always working to protect the platform's integrity and mitigate the risks and losses associated with fraud, scams, and abuse. Thank you all for always sharing these scenarios with us as we share with our internal teams.

To your question on how it is possible that the number appears to be an Airbnb number,  this is a growing trend scammers are using called "Caller ID spoofing." Please continue to remain vigilant and when you're in doubt, please call Airbnb directly to speak with the Customer Support teams. 

I am also sharing an Airbnb article that might help hosts visiting this thread : 👉How to secure your account👈 

Kind regards,

[Joelle43]

Hello @Bhumika and thank you for explaining to me how these scammers are able to use a legit telephone number.  Had no idea that was a thing but as you know, anything a bit techy just goes way over my head but have completely mastered the art of doing a screen shot now😂  So I'm a work in progress....

Warm regards
Joëlle

[Bhumika]

Haha, it happens to all of us @Joelle43 ! I was reading about it in detail just a few days ago and was quite surprised how quickly people can find workarounds to scam people🤐  

Thanks always for raising these situations to us 🌻

[Tom3986]

Thank you for the link to securing our account. I appreciate your help. It is a shame that it is necessary. 

[Jason114]

Thanks for sharing this.. scams like that can really rattle you, especially when they sound convincing and reference real details. I'm glad you trusted your instincts and verified with Airbnb before making any changes. Your post is a great reminder to the rest of us to stay cautious and always double-check anything involving payouts or account access.