Fake Listing in Barcelona?

[Michael704]

Looking at booking a recently added place in Barcelona. Host did not have any reviews yet as I believe they are new. Recieved this message from the Host:

There is 4 bedrooms with 4 bathrooms and I am sorry but I am no longer accepting credit card payments on my properties.
I have experienced 3 charge backs in the past, I will get paid from Airbnb, but the investigation is taking longer than expected, so there is a delay in getting my payment, which I will no longer tolerate.
To complete the booking you need to pay from your bank account to the account that airbnb sent you and when you pay you need to put the payment reference that you get from airbnb.
The booking and the payment will be done with airbnb and the payment directly to their account.
Airbnb will send you an invoice, Please let me know if is OK with you.

Thoughts?

[Helen3]

It's a scam. Go onto the listing and report to Airbnb to help prevent other guests getting taken in.

Airbnb don't send guests bank account details. They charge you in full using the payment method you set up on your account. They don't send you an invoice.

Look for an established host with great  reviews and ratings/superhost status.

[Kris80]

he is clearly styating that payment will be handeled by aribnb. what scam are you talking about?

[Matthew285]

@Kris80 ALL the scams say the payment will be "handled by AirBnB". Then they ask you to send payment by wire to some account that is called something like "AirBnB International Payments" or some made up name.

Here is a long, long, long discussion with many postings from many people who had an encounter with this very type of scam.

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Help/Rental-scam-using-Airbnb-How-should-I-go-forward-if-at-all/...

[Alexandra316]

@Michael704 I've heard of this scam: did they send you a link to send the money transfer through? I've heard it looks just like the Airbnb site, but it's not, and of course then they have your money. There was an article about it in the Guardian.

You can't pay for a room through money transfer on Airbnb @Kris80. That's not how it works. This is quite clearly a scam.

[Marit-Anne0]

@Michael704

Look for an established and legal host with a licence number.