Safety Tips: Protect Yourself from Common Frauds and Scams

[Jeet0]

Hello folks,

Airbnb offers a very secure platform for its users, however there are plenty of evil guys out there who try to by-pass the system and steal your money. Writing this article highlighing some of the common methods that fraudsters use and some tips on how you can shield yourself. I hope you find this useful 🙂

Examples of common scams include:

1. Phishing Scam: In this type of scam, someone might ask you to click on a link in an email or message that is made to look like it's from Airbnb or a trusted source. Once you click on such links/action icons, your sensitive information like login credentials, password, payment informations could be stolen and misused.
2. Payment Outside Airbnb Scam: In this type of a scam, the guest might offer to pay a partial/full amount outside Airbnb through other means or in Cash on Arriaval and request you to confirm a too good to be true request, some might also offer to pay more than your price. Once you agree to host, the guest my never pay the entire/additional amount.
3. 3rd Party Booking Scam: In this type, the guest might request to book for a friend/family member citing that they aren't tech savy and unable to book on their own. Now this sounds like a genuine case, however Airbnb policies strictly mention that the guest booking the place must be present as one of the visiting guests and 3rd Party Bookings are prohibited. In case you allow such bookings, the actual guests might be unaware of your house-rules, might have been over-charged by the agent, might be unpleasant (since you haven't actually spoken to them prior to booking), might cause damage, might come with more than the registered number of guests.
4. Free Services Scam: In this type, the fraudster might approach you as someone from an external company offering free services for Airbnb hosts, like free cleaning, ranking optimization, etc. However they might misuse your information, charge hidden fees, and put you at the risk if you share any sensitive information.

Here are a few guidelines to help keep your account safe:

1.  Never enter your login credentials on an unsecured webpage. The beginning of any Airbnb address should start with "https://" and, depending on your browser, you may also see a green lock icon.
2. Keep all payment and communication on Airbnb. Airbnb will never ask you to accept payments elsewhere.
3. Do not click any links or download any attachments from unverified sources.
4. Install a pop-up blocker from a trustworthy source or keep your preferred browser updated, installing the latest version whenever possible.
5. Install a personal firewall and antivirus software. Remember to run scans for viruses and malware frequently, and keep your antivirus software updated.
6. Change passwords regularly and use different passwords across all accounts, including your email account and Airbnb account. It's recommend that you use a password at least 8-10 characters that contains a unique combination of letters, numbers, and symbols.
7. Be careful where you enter your passwords. If in doubt, visit https://www.Airbnb.com instead of clicking on an email link, or bookmark the website for easy navigation.
8. If you encounter a suspicious profile, listing, or message thread, you are encouraged you to flag it for review by Airbnb's Trust and Safety Team or seek help from the Community Center.
9. Never accept payments outside Airbnb, not even partial payment.
10. Never allow 3rd party bookings.
11. Never allow unregistered guests to stay in your home. If you wish to allow additional last minute guests, edit and update the itinenary so that you have a record.
12. Have a security deposit amount in place to protect your house from any kind of damage.
13. If anyone is offering free services, verify the company by discussing over CC or contacting Airbnb.
14. Enable Notifications for Login and Changes to your Account. Here's a helpful article by Dave.
15. Here's how to know if an email came from Airbnb.
16. Here's how to report a suspicious profile.
17. Here's more on keeping your account safe.

18. Follow these simple guidelines and be a ninja against the scammers.

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    Happy hosting,

    Jeet