Spam Booking Request?

[Joan83]

I have been a host for two years and today received a request like no other.  I did not click on the link she provided.  The request came from Maria (member since 2017) with the address express@airbnb.com.  Has AirBnb's reservation platform been hacked?  I don't know who to contact to let them know about the possibility of spam booking requests.  Here is the content the email I received:

Hi ,

I want to book for 5 nights. I found another space on airbnb with same pictures and address posted for sale by another person. Please check and let me know.

Here it is, please copy and paste in a new page.

www.roomairbnb%2Ecom/rooms/238401

Thank you,

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

Crops up here a lot -  It's a common scam....

[Joan83]

First time for me!   Other than the text of the message, the request looked quite official.  Is there anything I can do on my end, or do I just have to accept that scam requests will be a part of my future from now on?

Joan

[Gerry-And-Rashid0]

@Joan83 Tends to come in phases it seems - we get a few (always with a story about really wanting to book, but seeing your listing on another site, and giving you a link)... then nothing for months. Just do as you did and be suspicious and if it feels wrong then trust your instincts!

good luck...

[Branka-and-Silvia0]

@Joan83 if you clicked on the link and made a login then the scammers have your username and password and access to your account 

Check everything (your email address, bank account no etc) and change your password ASAP

never login on airbnb website if there is not a green padlock icon on the begining of url address

[Jules20]

I have just received the following booking enquiry. The sender had no ID verification, no details of where they are from or if they were an Airbnb member. The photo looked very much like an model shot taken from the internet. I did put the URL into my browser but it didn't bring up any page and I didn't log in to anything although I do have automatic login setup. I declined the booking but did not send a message. Will I get penalised for declining it? Is my account in any danger?

BOOKING ENQUIRY RECIEVED

I finally decided to visit Uk this year.I think your property looks so amazing.I am a photographer looking for some nice pictures in Uk. I love your property and i am ready to book ant pay,still i am a little confused as i just saw the same property listed by another host with the same pictures at a lower price here:

www1.airbnb.гooms-19865.property

[Steve143]

Hello @Jules20,

That one is definitely a scam. The link they gave is designed to be misleading. The letter in front of the "ooms" bit is not an "r", it's a Cyrillic alphabet, as used in Russia, Bulgaria etc., letter. So on first glance it seems to be "rooms", but it's not.

For that reason the text sometimes says "You'll have to cut and paste the link into you browser". This is because you won't be able to type it on an english language keyboard.

When they go to that much trouble they're definitely after money.

Steve.

[Helga0]

The address above is not on airbnb.com. 

The domain is rooms-19865 

.property is the extension, instead of .com - there are a lot of new extensions. 

Then they put a subdomain, airbnb

and the www1 is another subdomain. instead of www - no idea why they create that one, but maybe that allows them to have several fake listing pages on rooms-19865. A fake on www, another fake on ww1 etc.

They pay once for the domain rooms-19865.property, the subdomains are free. Strange choice, as property costs 3 times as much than com, whilst there are some extensions that cost next to nothing. But maybe they choose it because it's widely unknown and looks so classy. "There is a property out there on airbnb. With your pictures. Check quickly, log-in!"

[Steve143]

Hello @Helga0,

The domain isn't "rooms-19865 ". Look at it, the first letter isn't a Latin alphabet "r". It's a Cyrillic alphabet "г" chosen to look like a Latin "r". So someone clicking on that link isn't going anywhere near where they  think they are.

For the past few years alphabets other than the Latin one have been allowed in URIs so we have to be extra vigilent when looking at links. For one, the Cyrillic alphabet has letters that look like, and some that are exactly the same form as, Latin ones.

The fully Latin letter "aa.com" will bring you to the American Airlines website while the Cyrillic + Latin mix "аа.com" will not.

Steve.

[Helga0]

Yes @Steve143, but I can't write that letter and it's not important. The real domain needs to be airbnb.com, not something else, with the airbnb to allure the unwary before or behind. 

If the fake domain is airbnb.com with an r or a in another alphabet, that would be really dangerous. 

But maybe you can't buy that with the com extension. Those hundreds of new extensions are not under the icannrules any more. With enough money, you can buy your own extension now. As there are so many and the domains on them are expensive, you practically can't by every extension for your domain any more. It's a wonder there is fraud going yet with www.airbnb.fake where fake could be anynew extension. 

We need to be constantly wary about such contacts. 

[Karen868]

I had similar request - Airbnb flagged as likely SPAM

Pasquale5:14 PM

My name is Sarah. I would like to book your place asap. What is the cancellation policy?

I have another question before the booking is made. I noticed that your listing is posted on Airbnb by a different host and it has the price with a 30% discount. It has the same pictures and details. Do you have cohost? Should i book the other on airbnb listing because it has discount? You can see the other listing here :  XXX was here