Be careful of fake hosts!

[Kwang2]

I'm a new user here and just had a bad experience which is not airbnb's  fault, but I just want to share with everyone here so you can aware of these scam hosts.

A few days ago I was looking for an apartment to rent in West UK and found a very nice looking one on some website called g_mtr_e.com. I sent a direct message to the owner to request more details and payment via this website and not long, he/she names Katarzyna Mizielska replies back and asked me to send her my email so she can contact me. After I sent her my email our conversation started via email  *sensitive information hidden*  I told her when I would like to move in/out. Please see the conversation below:

Hello,

I just read your e-mail regarding my apartment located in The Crescent, _______

I am the owner of the apartment. My name is Katarzyna Mizielska from Poland. I bought the apartment while working in UK.

The apartment has 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, 1 living room, 1 kitchen and 1 car parking space. Is available for long-term, it's in excellent condition, very clean and fully furnished with all the necessary equipment and appliances.

The rent is £700 per month including utility bill. A security deposit of £900 is required at the start of the lease and it will be refunded at the end of the contract (a 30 day notice is required). The apartment is fully furnished, like in the pictures. If you have any question please let me know.

If further interested, please give me some information about yourself (age, job, lifestyle or whatever you think makes you a good tenant). I want only serious people with a healthy financial situation. So could you please email me something that shows you are financially stable... anything you want that shows you're in a good financial situation.

Please see the apartment pictures here 1drv.ms/f/s!AtM878SfpfTVefnDtYHdr83vCP8

Thank you and I look forward to hearing back from you

Katarzyna

After this I have sent her my details age, job, lifestlye etc. and she replies:

Thank you for your quick reply.

At this moment I'm in Poland and can not be present to deal face to face. My job doesn't allow me to leave Poland. We just hired some new staff and I'm in charge of their training. This won't affect you at all. I can make arrangements to rent the apartment through Airbnb( www.airbnb.com ) which is an international company dealing specifically in rentals apartments, I used it in the past and I was very pleased for their services. The reason I use Airbnb is because they are one of the most biggest rental company around the world and I really trust them. I belive that you know Airbnb.

Using Airbnb  involves three parties: me as owner, you as a potential tenant and Airbnb as a responsible third party authorized to proper conduct the transaction.

Using Airbnb you can see the apartment before you sign the rental contract, so you can choose if you want to rent it or not. You will make the payment for the first month of rent plus security deposit using Airbnb payment platform.

I will open a reservation on the Airbnb website and indicate you as my potential tenant.

Please let me know if you accept Airbnb and provide me with the following details for your referencing application so that I can register the transaction with Airbnb

and move forward.

Your phone number

Full name

Scan or photo of ID

The date you want to move in

How many people are going to live in my apartment

For how long do you want to rent the apartment

Kind Regards,

Katarzyna

Which I didn't realized at that moment that I shouldn't have sent her my passport, i just thought if i am the owner, I also would like to know more and trust my tenant 😞

Then she sent me back the airbnb link for me to book. 

Hello,

You can book here www airbnbcom/rooms/327852301

I rent whole apartment. The bills (tv&internet, gas/electricity,water) are included in the rent price.

Kind Regards,
Katarzyna

After clicked, it looks all like airbnb official site, but I can only pick how long I would like to stay like 2 months, 3 months,.... but the actual site I can choose the date of arrival and check out date. THen I started to realized and smell there's something wrong. I tried to check on her property reviews, but I cannot click into reviewer's profile, also I can't click to any buttons, even the airbnb logo that should be linked to home site.

Lucky that I didn't make any payment yet, but I just worried that she/he will use my id to get money from other victims. If you see my name Potjana **** posting somewhere and ask people money or whatever, don't trust!!!

Be careful! and check everything before you give them your personal details or make any payment.

Good luck!

Potjana (Kwang) [Surname hidden]

[San24]

Same just happened to my husband and I! We were looking for a flat in Cambridge and she sent the exact same email she sent Kwang and everyone else. Crazy!!

[Ikky0]

Im pretty sure I got scam by this guy and I sent my deposit what should I do ?

[Sandra856]

@Ikky0 I'm sorry to hear that! I don't think you will ever see your money again but definitely report it to the Police. Never ever wire money outside the system. 

[Sandra856]

@Ikky0 contact your bank as well. Maybe they can help you. Again I'm really sorry this happend to you. 

[Laura2618]

Hello my name is Laura [Surname hidden] (italian nationality but living in SCotland)

I just read this post and i can't believe that this has happened to many people

I had a horrible experience on Friday, they stold me £1600 by a scammed website from Airbnb

The method exactly the same  as Kwang mentiones, sames emails, same speech

I was looking to rent a flat long term in Edinburgh, UK, i have sent my passport to this person , pretending to be Zofia Pardela ( i think she is another victim), I booked the flat in Airbnb, i received the invoice in my email and i have made the payment 😞

I reported this to the cyber crime police and my bank institution

But i want to aware all the people the same as Kwang, if at any point you see my name being part of this fraudelent fake website or any where else, just let you know is not me

They have my passport so i think they are using all the names of their victims to cheat on other people

I hope this does not happen again to anyone. There have been so many cases, to be honest I start doubting a lot about Airbnb

[Pantaleo1]

Hi,

unfortuntely I am a victim of this person..

I sent 4000 (four thousand!) pound in order to book a flat.

I report it to the airBnb website but they didn't care at all, the only thing they told me is that  they were "very sorry to hear that".

My bank doesn't want to give me any money back, the bank abroad (POLAND) refused to send me money back because their customer doesn't agree (Really??).

I report to the actionfraud but it simply ridicoulous!!

Actionfraud just passed your case to the police. Mine was closed without telling me a word. I contacted actionfraud again but they told me that they actually cannot do anything about it!

I couldn' t find any help from anyone. They (police, bank, website) allow to be a criminal!

Is is one of the worst experience in my life.

Be careful of what you do, because NOBODY is willing to help.

Pantaleo

[Ikky0]

[Inappriopriate content hidden – in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Laura2618]

Im sorry to hear that. Is a nightmare and i understand you

I reported to the police of my area, because im sure, this crimimals, are going to use my name to cheat on other people. That was important to me to have it clear

From the other hand, i don't think im going to recover the money they stold me 😞

I start suspecting that this all scammed web sites, come directly from Airbnb, is not possible that theere have been so many cases and this continue the same

They are doing a milliiooonsssssss with all this fraudulent!!!! is terrible!!

But we can't do much about that.  Just stop using this **bleep**ing Aibnb 

[Lizzie · Accepted solution]

Hello everyone,

I'm sorry to hear your experiences here.

Unfortunately, there are scammers out there who are looking to catch people off guard. But, there are things you can do to help, as others have mentioned here.

One of the most important is checking, the url. You can find out more in this Help Center article: Someone sent me a link to Airbnb. How can I tell if the website link is real?

If you ever receive an fake email or a fake website, please report it to report.phishing@airbnb.com.

Also, if you are ever unsure about a link a person has sent you and even trying to check the signs you are still unsure, please contact our Support Team, who can advice you further and potentially prevent you sending money to a fake site. Here is a guide on how to contact the team and if you are currently unsure, please do contact them. 

I really hope you get this sorted and do keep me posted.

Thanks,

Lizzie

[Chiara529]

Hi there, stumbled upon this conversation today after getting a couple of suspicious e-mails myself and thought I'd add to the thread -- this scam is still active, the person who contacted us used the name 'Elizabeth Legard' and tried to direct me to a fraudulent airbnb post (which was not airbnb at all, and we quickly recognised it was a scam from the URL). They changed the name they're using, but the e-mail and re-direction to a fake listing remain the same. 

Hope this helps!