Scam inquiry about a duplicate, cheaper listing.

Scam inquiry about a duplicate, cheaper listing.

I just got a scam inquiry.  Here's the message copied straight from my inquiry page:

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Melanie3:15 PM
Hello, me and my husband would like to spend our 20 years marriage anniversary in your property.But i also had a few questions, why is your ad twice on airbnb? With different prices...

Here is the other listing:
http : / abn . app - host - list - ***** . casa

What should I rent?
------------------------------
(I replaced the numbers with * and added spaces in the link.)
 
I clicked the link (dummy me).  Thank goodness, my browser recognized it as a scam website and wouldn't open it so no harm done.  Airbnb also recognized it as potentially dangerous; a warning and a link to click to report it showed up on the inquiry page.  The warning referenced only something about receiving payments outside of Airbnb, but I used the link to report it anyway.
 
Looks like the profile was just created, no more than 7 days old -- probably only 7 minutes old.
12 Replies 12
Mary996
Level 10
Swansea, United Kingdom

Wow! What was the outcome? Thanks for letting us know. Were you satisfied that the Dummy Listing was withdrawn?

@Mary996  I have twice tried to respond to this comment, on two different computers, and each time an "unexpected error" resulted.  This is post is a test to see if something will actually post.

Oh sure, THAT one posts fine. *feeling annoyed*  I'll try one more time to respond to the post with the question.

@Mary996 Thankfully, no major problems resulted.  The dummy listing isn't within the Airbnb site so they have no ability to remove it. I guess I shouldn't have clicked on the link but I did want to see what this supposed cheaper listing looked like and I wouldn't have provided any personal information.  My browser recognized the website as fraudulent so I didn't go any further and can't know what would have been there. I did report the user profile that made the inquiry under my listing and later received an auto-response email from Airbnb stating that, ''you were recently in contact with an account that was removed for violating the Airbnb Terms of Service'' and ''you may have paid for a fraudulent reservation'' -- like I was a guest instead of a host -- and it went on saying never communicate or send payments outside of the Airbnb site, etc.  In the end, no major problems resulted, hallelujah. I thought I should post this just to further the awareness of this scam.

Mary996
Level 10
Swansea, United Kingdom

Phew .... @Wendy1168. Am so relieved to hear that you successfully reported this and that Airbnb have acknowledged that anyone attempting to go there would have become a victim of fraud. This must have been very concerning.

Even though you were being perceived as a potential Guest are you satisfied with this outcome?

Very best wishes to you and well done for your prompt action! Mary

Elena87
Level 10
СПБ, Russia

@Wendy1168 

 

Careful there, it's a scam. Not a new one either.

Of course you are intrigued by this message, and want to check the link.

Maybe it resembles an airbnb page, but it asks for you to enter your airbnb sign in and password.

If you do sign in, your information is breached and scammers can then capture your account.

 

With this, they may attempt to reroute genuine airbnb payments due to you.

Otherwise they might change your account fundamentals in order to try to milk stolen credit cards... this isn't easy to do with brand new accounts, so either a takeover of an established account or collusion is required. 

Liv
Former Community Manager
Former Community Manager
London, United Kingdom

Hi @Wendy1168,

 

Thanks for sharing that with the Community!

 

I'm really sorry you received that inquire, but I'm glad to hear you were able to report it. Flagging these issues is always very helpful. 😊

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Sadis0
Level 1
Honolulu, HI

I have keeping receiving reservations,  and my dates 📅are booked,  I want to know why it's happening. 

Hi @Wendy1168 

 

I just got something similar, it wouldn’t let me click on the link only copy the msg so I put it in the search bar and it brought me here. 

 

Me, my wife and a couple of our friends would like to spend our vacation in your house. But I have a few questions, why is your listing publish twice with different prices and different host?
Here is the other listing:

https:/abn-home-host.723333.icu

Which one should I book?

I just had exactly the same experience! Amazing to come across such scum ! Thanks for this information!

R

Louise-And-Jef0
Level 2
Valprionde, France

I received a similar enquiry this afternoon.  My first spam attempt on Airbnb in six years of operation.  The initial mail already set off alarm bells as it requested confirmation that certain dates in September were available which they clearly were on my Airbnb calendar.  Figuring that it takes all type to make a world, I responded that they were.  The second mail referring me to a hosting site I have never heard of where my cottage was available at a lower price set the alarms screaming.  I refused the enquiry and reported the "guest" to Airbnb.  I assume that they will respond appropriately. 

Kate2191
Level 2
Bath, United Kingdom

Thanks for this post! I today received the same message, brand new user, first with a message that simply said ‘hello’ and when I nicely responded it came back with a message so similar to the ones posted above. 
Luckily Airbnb highlighted that this could be a scam and I was suspicious so did not click the link. I have reported it to Airbnb.