Beware the "Let's split the payment" scam

[Rich-and-Yan0]

Hi fellow hosts,

My wife and I are still relatively new hosts, just passing the 6-month mark about a week ago, but we have been following the hosting forums for much longer.

We have heard of various scams and scam attempts on Airbnb over the past few years, but this morning we were approached with what appears to be a new one--or at least, it was new to us. 

Basically, we got an email request for a long-term booking from this coming Tuesday, which seemed odd to us. Why, after all, would someone planning a long trip write on such short notice? The writer also claimed to be going on a business trip, which was another peculiarity. Our home is in the Algarve in southern Portugal, which is known for its climate, beaches and golfing--but not as a place people go on business trips. Even if they did, then we feel sure that they would have planned their trip more than three days in advance.

And then there was the language. Though the telephone number he secretly embedded in his mail was for an U.S. address in the state of New Jersey, his English (e.g. "Greetings. I am Alexander" and "But there is one moment that I would like to share with you") didn't sound like that of any American I've ever met.

Now here comes the really dodgy part: the writer claimed that he wasn't actually going to stay at our place, as he had a friend's house to stay at in Portugal but was getting paid by his company for accommodation costs. So, he said that if we were willing to accept his booking, then we could split the payment between us.

I'll post what he wrote at the end of this letter, but I'm sure that many of you are seeing "flags" already. Certainly we were.

So, I sent it on to a lawyer friend of mine who specialises in fraud, and she said that she has seen this recently and that it is a new variation on an old type of scam. Here's how it works. First, since it's low season and you don't have anyone booked, then you figure that it is a good deal for you and agree. Next, the person confirms the booking. After that, the guest asks you to transfer him half of the money for the booking. And then once the transfer to him is made--you guessed it--the guest cancels, and you are screwed. 

So that's it. And again, some of you hosts may have seen something like this before. But as I said, it was new to us, and so we thought that we should share it so that other hosts can be aware of it if it happens to them. 

The message he sent is pasted below. We would love to hear your thoughts. (Oh, and if anyone knows how we can report this to Airbnb, then please let us know.)

Rich & Yan

Greetings! I am Alexander. Soon I'm having a business trip to Portugal. I was looking through Airbnb to find some apartments there and would like to book your apartment. But there is one moment that I would like to share with you. 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 proporsal. Book your apartment, never move into it and just share the rental fee my employer is going to pay as a part of my business trip expenses. You can just have some money for doing nothing. If you are interested, please get back to me soon. Text me in whattsap. This is my numbra pluus oonnnee ssevven thrre ttwwwo thhrree ssiixx zzeroo siixx niinee ninne ffiifee. Waiting for an answer.

[Helen350]

@Eliana97  ^

[Kath9]

@Rich-and-Yan0 just wow. People must lie awake at night thinking of these things. This is similar to a regular scam on our Gumtree (similar to Craigslist). You are selling a car, the interested party can't view it (for a variety of reasons) and will send a 'courier' to pick it up. They transfer the money for the car plus the courier fee (usually around $1200) into your PayPal account (for which you receive an actual legitimate receipt), but this has a hold on it until you have transferred the money for the courier into the 'couriers' account, at which point all the money in the PayPal account disappears. Elaborate. My 22-year-old son nearly fell for this and would have been out $1200 for a car he was selling for $1500. There are truly some evil people out there. Definitely report this to Airbnb and thanks for sharing. 

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Kath9 Geez, that's another twist on this whole crazy episode. We hosts really do have to watch out for each other, don't we?

Scroll up above and see the reply that @Susan17 wrote on the Russian money laundering scam. This was something that I would never have even dreamed of when I posted my original message yesterday. The lengths that these people will go to in order to scam others seem endless, and the only way for us to protect ourselves is to stay vigilant, keep abreast of any new developments, and share what we have learned.

Thanks for filling us in on what happened with your son. We're happy to hear that he caught on to what they were trying to do in time to avoid being scammed. Oh, I did report the attempted scammer this morning. It won't stop his/her/their organisation from trying again, of course, but for now, it'll remove one scammer from the site. 

[Frederico54]

There always seems to be a consistent element is scams, where the other party states what you are to gain with their "proposal", as in "you can just have money doing nothing" bit.

Also loved the direct contact stated in "nnummmbers" , a definite giveaway of " it´s not the first time I have this conversation".

Worst than being scammed is being scammed by a poor con artist.

Glad you spotted it and shared. Cheers!

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Frederico54 Yes, you're absolutely right, the whole disguising of the telephone number thing makes it clear that this is an experienced scammer, for sure. And regarding the payment, you're also right in noting that we always have to keep our guard up when someone is offering us something for doing nothing. As the old saying goes, "If it sounds too good to be true, then it probably is."

Thanks for the feedback. 

[Pamela553]

I would say this is a scam.

The problem we’re having is a female who contacts, via Airbnb email enquiry, at short notice asking if our apartment is free that night. She doesn’t check the availability on the Airbnb site. We’ve said no & hastily blocked it out, as her profile picture shows someone in scanty lingerie.

We’ve also had a couple of other ‘enquires’ wanting to make a booking but does not want to meet us for the key (we always meet & greet).

We feel very uncomfortable about this.

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Pamela553 The scanty lingerie pic is a new twist, lol. Assumedly this "person" (who is probably a guy, or guys) is hoping that some desperate male host will agree, thinking that there might be "something else" in it for him if he allows "her" a last-minute booking. Shameless.

Regarding the other enquiries, I would trust your instincts if someone consciously did NOT want to meet you to get the key--especially when meet & greet is your standard practice. It's always nice to get a booking, but at the end of the day, we have to consider just how much risk we are willing to take to secure one. 

Cheers. 

[Sarah977]

@Pamela553 @Rich-and-Yan0  The last minute inquiry from the female in lingerie is most likely a sex worker looking for a place to entertain her johns. 

Although I know Robin, from Australia, has a couple of times posted about a young guest who had a profile photo of herself sitting on the bed in lingerie, who turned out to be a stellar guest, with no funny business. But it wasn't some last minute booking for the same night without bothering to look at the availability.

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Sarah977 Yes, I'm sure there are some legit ones out there who, for whatever reason, choose to put up a risqué profile pic. But you're right, the last-minute booking inquiry without checking availability seems to confirm that this is someone up to no good.

[David4245]

Avoid scams and reduce probability of house damage by keeping your maximum stay period to 14 days. I only allow 10 days! As soon as you open your home to lengthy stays, the scam potential starts stacking up. Never give anyone the feeling that they have a new home when they open your door, and never let them feel this is their home! Because as soon as they do, they just might claim it as their own and that will be your worst nightmare!

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@David4245 Yes, there was that infamous case where those two Russian brothers exploited your state's loose rules on squatter's rights by taking over this poor lady's home for several months, and boasting about it on social media. We're not talking about some rich oligarch owner here. She was just a regular person like you and me, trying to make a little extra money by renting out her place--and these jerks totally took advantage of her, and were proud of themselves for doing so.

So yes, you do have to be well aware of the laws for long-term rentals in your country, state, province or city before starting to rent. We did ask our lawyer about this before we started renting and she told us that we should cap the rentals at 30 days, which we do. But great reminder. Thanks. 

[Iain34]

Hi Rich. I was sent this message a couple of weeks ago. I think that if it seems fishy then it usually is. I replied to the 'guest' and said it wasnt something I would do. A couple of days later I received a message from airbnb about that 'guest' saying that their account has been shut down due to not following airbnb policy. 

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Iain34 That's great news. Weirdly enough, though, I reported my dodgy enquiry to Airbnb, and they still haven't shut down that person's profile. I know this because "his" email request, the one that I shared with all of you, is still in my inbox. So I'm glad to hear that they have shut down one suspicious account, but I wish they would follow up with all of these cases a little better.  

[Dawn81]

@Rich-and-Yan0 you're right the person that compose that is definitely not an American the language and syntax is all wrong. They also spelled proposal incorrectly. That's a rip-off. Simple and for me here in the states I have a toll free number as a super-host I can call I wouldn't have even bothered just reporting it online I would call Airbnb discuss it with them and let them take care of it which they would do. Completely non bona fide guest just a scam artist. Do you would have lost half of the money that you sent them. And think about how much money they make by sending out those same letters over and over again. What a creep. Hope they get removed from the site.

[Rich-and-Yan0]

@Dawn81 Thanks for the comment, Dawn. We did actually report it to Airbnb by flagging the person on the site, though to be honest, their reporting methods could use significant improvement. For one thing, they never actually ask if we thought there was any scamming or phishing involved, the way most sites do now. They also never removed the person from the site. He's still there, and I know this because his request is still in our inbox with a "Not possible" next to it. 

So I'm glad that you, we and so many of other fellow hosts were able to recognise this for what it was: a scam attempt. It would just be nice if Airbnb would follow up on this a bit more, and have better protection in place such as allowing the host to make a genuine scamming report, and actually taking some follow-up action. 

Cheers. 🙂