ACCOUNT HACKED!

Answered!

ACCOUNT HACKED!

and Airbnb does not seem to care at ALL! 

 

the hackers have changed my payout method to a different paypal account and I have been calling and emailing Airbnb since Monday when I found out about this. the hackers paypal still listed on my account and they have not lifited a fingure to help me or secure my account.

 

this is so FRUSTRATING and I feel so exposed. I am new to airbnb and just hosted 2 guests and have not received any payments yet and when I checked on my account I clearly see a different payout method for the payments and with my bank info still listed there.

 

this is a major security issue on Airbnb site which they dont seem to care. I can't even find any decent email account to send emails

 

Very disappointed and frustrated at Airbnb and will take this issue to social media. 

 

Farah

1 Best Answer

@Robin107 I've been reading your posts with great interest.  I'm wondering, have you changed your email password lately?  Emails are hacked / compromised all the time.  I change mine every six months just to be on the safe side.  Remember, Yahoo had a massive email attack just a few months ago and my LifeLoc security manager has notified me at least once that my email address was found on a  website presumably for sale. 😞

Also, do you check your log in history?  In order for anyone to access your Airbnb account, they have to log in.  You can find this under your profile under Security.  If you find a log in from a device / IP address that you don't use, log them out and then change your password.  You should receive an alert when you or anyone else logs in from a foreign (to you) device / browser.  For example, if I log in to my Airbnb account from a friend's IPad, I will get an alert from Airbnb telling me.  Be sure your email settings are not blocking alerts from Airbnb. 

Yes, technically I supposed that there is a difference between hacking and compromising an account.  Strictly speaking, hacking is done when someone uses computer software to access data illegally such as when Target credit card accounts were accessed.  Usually this is done on a massive scale.  Compromising an account normally is done on an individual account level and is done by gaining access to a particular account.  This can be done easily through public wifi that is not password protected such as in an internet cafe.  Someone sitting next to you can see what you are doing on your device and gain information that way.  There are other ways as well, such as clicking on an attachment in an email from someone you don't know. 

I wish you the best of luck and I'm very sorry you are going through this traumatic ordeal!

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184 Replies 184

Hello,

 

I am going through the same thing. My payment method got changed a couple of weeks ago. Thankfully I caught it before I lost any payments to them. Then last night out of the blue, I got a verification code on my phone that i hadnt asked for. Sure enough i was logged out of my Airbnb apps and had to sign in on my computer. The payment method had been changed again and my last payment of 1500.00 went to an IBAN account in europe. I called Airbnb and got a girl in the Philippines that assured me that she would fast track this complaint.

I feel like I'm caught in a trap. I have many more bookings for the summer but no guarantee that I will get the money! What do we do?

 

Kim

It's not hacked because AirBNB wasn't hacked.  It's compromised if your password and email are easily available online, and they probably are.  Check at http://www.haveibeenpwned.com.

TO ALEX IN PALMA SPAIN:

Hi!  I just saw your message to me and literally had written you just a few minutes earlier about where you are with all this.  Sorry about that! I should have scrolled down!  

 

So I finally received a call at 10 pm on  June 13 from my "Case Manager" at Airbnb.
 
He said the "problem" had been fixed and that I wasn't "Hacked" but my account was "Compromised"   hahahha..same thing?? He didnt say how it was fixed but assured me the problem was solved.
 
The bottom line is that he says it has been all taken care of and that I would start getting my payments again.
 
Changed my password again, and they said they would resume sending me payments and I will get back the money that was lost.  When asked how soon, he said he didn't know for sure.
 
Anyway, my account all looked good and I kept looking at it throughout the days since the 13th to make sure nothing was getting changed, specifically my "payout method".  Checked it last night before I went to sleep again and it was still correct.
 
I had a guest check in yesterday so I new a payment would be dispersed today. (For over $1K)  When I woke up this am, I see a notification on my phone that says account info has been changed.  I logged in and sure enough my payout method was changed back to "IBAN"  (international bank acct) only this time, it was being sent to a different international acct number than it was the first 2 times.
 
I went in to re-add my acct and this time there was a 2-step security so it was going to send a code to my cell phone.  The problem was that the number it was going to send it to was an international phone number.  (not mine, and they had 2 different phone numbers on there)   I deleted those two and re-added mine back in.
 
Meanwhile, I may have lost another payment.  Not sure yet if it will go to IBAN or my 6442 US acct .
 
Also noticed that they have complete access to my entire account which has my name, my cell, my profile info, my home address, etc.
 
I called Airbnb asap and they re-opened the case but again don't know how long its going to take.
 
I have no idea what to do at this point or how they are accessing my account.  I have changed my pass code 3 times!  
 
I also called several news stations, tweeted all over the place, tweeted the CEO of Airbnb and have gotten nowhere.  I do use Airbnb and VRBO for my rental property but 98% of my bookings come from Airbnb.  I too am afraid they will close my account & my main sourse of income is my rentals otherwise I would just close the account.
 
Keep in touch, ok?  It helps to have someone to listen to each others frustration and anxiety over this situation.
Carol236
Level 2
Cape Town, South Africa

Personally, I think you have to make sure that you don't log in with Facebook.  The problem I encountered was when I used FB to log in and then didn't log out of FB when I was finished with Airbnb.  Facebook was open for days on my computer.

Since then I have not been using Facebook to log in and check my security regularly.  I haven't had any more problems

Hello There.....  i have never logged in with my facebook account.....