Is this a scam? airbnbpremium.host

[Suzanne5]

I just received this email through my messages:

Dear customer, Congratulations, your listing was selected out of milions to receive a 3 Months Premium Subscription. To activate your Airbnb Premium Subscription simply visit www. airbnbpremium [dot] host and follow the instructions. Search results are designed so that travelers can find their ideal property quickly, and you receive the most relevant inquiries and booking requests. Premium Host Subscription Benefits: -Ranks highest in search results -Your property listing will appear in the top 10 vacation rentals section for 3 month period -Averages 150% more inquiries than standard subscription -Increased Photo Quality -Global Bundle (Reach travelers all over the world on our leading sites in addition to our top 24 international sites) ACTIVATE BEFORE 17 APRIL 2016 WWW [dot] AIRBNBPREMIUM [dot] HOST Thank you for choosing Airbnb Services! Airbnb Team

Today at 10:57

Is this a scam? I went on the site and entered my user name and password but it does not look genuine.

[Nelson4]

"went on the site and entered my user name and password but it does not look genuine."

well... you will be probably hacked in the next days/weeks

[Helen3]

It's a scam. Never use your password in a third party site . Change your password straight away and report to BnB

[Clare0]

@Suzanne5 Too bad you didn't ask this question before you went to this website.  You literally did the same thing as hand over the keys to your home to a stranger.  Here's what you need to do, in addition to contacting  Airbnb:

1.) Go to your profile picture and click on Account Settings.  Be sure the correct  phone number appears in Notifications.

2.) Click on Security. In the box concerning Turn on Notifications, check mark the box.  This will alert you to anyone logging into your account from a device you don't use. 

3.) AFTER you have done these things, THEN change your password.  

Unfortunately this type of scam is on the rise and unwary hosts are lured to them either promising "Premium" support or by telling hosts that their listing is appearing on another site.  

I'm sorry this happened to you and I am confident that Airbnb will get your account straightened out.  Word to the wise: Never provide your email address (scammers use them for this type of phishing) or password to anyone outside of Airbnb.  

Good luck!

[Clare0]

@Suzanne5 by the way, can you give more details on how you were referred to this "premium" support site? Did they write it out like "wwwdotpremiumsupportdotcom" or was it in a link with squiggly lines underneath?  I'm trying to figure out how they got past the Airbnb screening for website links.  I would appreciate you clearing this up!

[Suzanne5]

It was exactly as I wrote above and was sent in the messages section. There was an actual dot in the url, not a squiqqly line. 

[Clare0]

@Suzanne5 thanks for the quick reply!  So it was sent like this?  www.airbnbpremium.host ? Hmm. Surprised it got through Airbnb's screening for web urls.  Thank you so much!

[Marcus0]

@Suzanne5  @Clare0 Just another scam that usually gets pushed to ones junk mail folder.

The sad thing is, from time to time Airbnb does communicate directly with hosts however Airbnb chooses to use the hosts actual email address rather than using the internal message system.  Airbnb could remove this confusion all together if they just read their own advice.

[Clare0]

@Marcus0, @Suzanne5, @Helen3, @Nelson4 It is a total scam, especially for hosts who don't think their listing shows up in searches!  Here's what it looks like: 

Perfect scam to capture account information! By the way @Suzanne5 did this come to you by an email message through Airbnb (perhaps an inquiry?) or totally separate from Airbnb?  If the latter, do you remember the sender's email address?

[Marcus0]

@Clare0 you are an Airbnb GURU. 

[Clare0]

@Marcus0 He, he not a guru.  Just another host that happens to hate criminals trying steal from people.  Sad thing is that they are making milions of $'s all over the internet.  Be vigilant, my friend!