I know it's a scam, but what kind of scam?

[Neža3]

Hi fellow hosts,

in Slovenia we are currently banned to rent out our properties due to rhe coronavirus. In the past few weeks I have recieved to very simillar messages to the letter, only the phone numbers where different. One was 2 weeks ago - he sent a request 2 or 3 days before check in, and the 2nd I got today and wanted to check in today!

I know it's a scam either way and have declined both of them, but I was wondering if any of you have any similar experiences with these sorts of scams and what they could be.

Both of these people have registered with Airbnb in April 2020.

Here is the one I've gotten today:

Hi! My name is Alex. I'm going to have a business trip to Slovenia. I came across your listing and would like to book your apartment. There is one thing I'd like to talk over with you. The thing is that I am actually not planning to stay in your household, my good old friend is going to host me instead. Here's my suggestion. Book your apartment, never check in and get the rental fee that will be paid by my employer. You can just have some money for doing nothing. If you are interested, please get back to me soon. You can contact me in wathsap. My numbra is pluzs sseevenn nninne siix oonnee niine thhre sevvenn onnee sevven ssiixx onnee. Waiting for an answer.

And this one is from 2 weeks ago:

Gr33ting$, Neža! l am Artur! Soon 1'm having a business trip to Cerklje na Gorenjskem. 1 was l00king through Airbnb tto find some apartments there and I was thinking to book your apartment There is something about my bookingg that 1 would like tto discuss with you The thing is that I am actually not planning to stay in your household but to stay at my friend's house instead. I have a plan to stay at my friend's home once I'm there and not to check into your apartment at all. Here's my plan. B0ok your househo1dd, never check in and just share the rental f33 that will be paid by my emp1oyerr You can just have some money for doing nothing. 1f you ffind this proposa1 as intriguing as 1 do p1ease gett bback tto me as so0n as you can. You can contact me in VVha ts ap p. My numbra is ..fourrr..zerooo..sevennn..twooo..fourrr..eighttt..threeee..sevennn..sevennn..fourrr..fiveee

Your thoughts please?

Stay safe!

Neža

[Inna22 · Accepted solution]

@Neža3 yes, this is a known scam reported in this discussion group a couple of times. I received one of those myself. Make sure to report the message

[Neža3]

Thanl you for the response! I already reported it.

[Susan17]

@Neža3

This is a comment I posted on another thread some time ago. I'll just repost here in its entirety

These communications are from fraudsters attempting to recruit hosts to collude in their money-laundering scams - hence the "earning money without hosting is not a myth" line.

Cyber criminals have been rampantly exploiting the weaknesses n Airbnb's safety and security systems for years, and emboldened by their successes (and Airbnb's failure to detect/halt their fraudulent actions) they've more recently graduated from the inconvenience of having to seek out complicit hosts on the dark web, to simply setting up their own Airbnb accounts and approaching hosts directly.

"The Daily Beast found a number of recent posts on several Russian-language crime forums, in which users were looking for people to collaborate with to abuse Airbnb’s service. According to Rick Holland, VP of strategy from cybersecurity firm Digital Shadows, these operations rely on an individual or group using legitimate or stolen Airbnb accounts to request bookings and make payments to their collaborating Airbnb host. The host then sends back a percentage of the profits, despite no one staying in the property. 

In essence, it’s a way to extract value out of stolen credit cards. In another case, fraudsters might buy electronic goods such as iPhones with stolen cards to then resell at a profit. This is the same idea of laundering funds, just with Airbnb"

Inside Airbnb's Russian Money Laundering Problem 

https://www.thedailybeast.com/inside-airbnbs-russian-money-laundering-problem

How Criminals use Airbnb and Uber To Launder Money Stolen From Your Credit Card

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/07/how-criminals-use-airbnb-uber-launder-stolen-credit-card-money.html

[Neža3]

@Susan17 Holy moly, that's awful! Thank you Susan for the extensive explanation.

[Nicole2008]

Hello!  Yes I have just received one it these myself. Awful. 

[Denys17]

Hello, I’m a traveler and a host. I have recently been contacted by a number of individuals sending similar requests: where a person pays for a number of days but doesn’t stay at the premises, afterwards we split the money I’d receive 50-50. By participating in this you’d be a part of money laundering of potentially stolen accounts and credit cards. Be aware!

I hope Airbnb would soon find a way to track these fraudsters and help our community protect our hard-earned funds! 

Cheers!