Card being charged for a reservation I didn't book.

[Carlos5460]

my card was used by another person we don’t know. They booked a reservation in Albany NY under the name ** as we can see from the credit card receipt. This is an unauthorized use and charge and Airbnb claims it was a family member or friend that used the card . We don’t know this person . How do we cancel and get a refund for the booking we didn’t make?

**[Sensitive information removed in line with the Community Center Guidelines]

[Helen3]

You contact your credit card company and report fraudulent use of your card @Carlos5460 

[Carlos5460]

We did, Bank of America is the bank and its VISA card, bank of america's position is it's not fraud. The fraud agent stated since we have shared our CC# with airbnb we need to resolve it with airbnb.

I did some digging and found out who the hosts are for this booking. I reached out to them via the airbnb messaging system. I hope I get a reply. I also am thinking since I see many people on here have suffered the same issue and have costlier cases, I want to start a class action law suit against AirBNB so I'm going to have to start collecting names from airbnb victims.

[Mike-And-Jane0]

@Carlos5460 I would go back to Visa and suggest their answer is BS. Just because you have used your card with a company does not then mean any further use of the card with said company is not fraud.

[Joan2709]

@Carlos5460 

Hmmm....I agree with @Mike-And-Jane0 . It's entirely possible your credit card was stolen (if you're sure a friend or family member didn't use it). It's also entirely possibe for someone to fraudulently get your CC info via identiy theft or hacking. Call the CC back and report the card as stolen and get issued a new card. Then have them do a chargeback on the Airbnb reservation. Be cautious though, as I believe if you report the card as stolen and they cancel it, you won't have access to the information on the accountK anymore. Keep copies of the transaction for yourself. You can also "freeze" a credit card without cancelling it to prevent further unauthorized use until you can figure this out.

[Carlos5460]

Update: 

I since have have my 5 attempts at resolving this with Airbnb shutdown with case closed all claiming I shared my credit card information. I did my own investigation and was able to locate the property and host of the property and informed them if the situation. I also filed a police report with the town sheriff. I also filed a complaint with the FBI and the FTC. I contacted the issuing bank of the credit card and informed them of the same . I did speak to an officer of the law and they did dispatch a patrol unit to the property. I also updated dated Airbnb support with these new developments.

i just received a call from Airbnb again I get the scripted response.

now I wait to hear from the bank about the fraud claim they are now accepting. 

[Lorina14]

@Carlos5460 

I’m sorry to hear about your challenges with the scripted responses from customer service. I’ve heard of similar stories of not getting anywhere and it’s frustrating for the person who is just trying to get reasonable help. It’s a poor reflection and can cause Airbnb to lose guests or hosts. 

@Rebecca @Bhumika @Paula (community managers who moderate these boards) what can be done to expedite help to people like Carlos who got the run around from 10 agents saying the same scripted advice when he knows his family or friends did not use his credit card? 

The Bank of America cc response is surprising as I’ve never heard that from my credit card companies when I have reported fraud and unauthorized use. They immediate file a report, cancel and replace my card and investigate the situation. They have never said because a prior company has my card I need to resolve it with them. I would change credit card companies in the future. I’m glad you got the local authorities involved and hopefully the fraudster will be prosecuted to the fullest extent. 

[Carlos5460]

Because Airbnb has agreements with the credit card companies that will allow them to charge your new card after canceling it I don’t know what other recourse I have. Maybe canceling the card all together and not replacing the card at all. I’ve locked my card online to prevent future charges but I believe Airbnb can circumvent that as locked card permit established recurrent charges.

[Lorina14]

@Carlos5460 

I think I only had one card that when my card expired the cc company allowed a recurring monthly billing charge to go through for an established monthly billing.

If you tell your CC company to not authorize any further charges from Airbnb without your approval as you have a fraud investigation going I would think they would do so. In the past I’ve asked my CC to not allow any further charges from a company I severed ties from and I had documentation to prove I gave the notice of ending service. My bank and CC company obliged. I guess it may vary depending on which bank/CC company you use.

[Carlos5460]

I canceled the card, the new card it frozen

[Carlos5460]

Entirely possible? it did happen, its a fact.

[Chelsea503]

Hi. I've just had the same thing happen to me. How did you find out what the address is or hosts are to contact them directly? 

[Neil765]

How do I get my name on a class action law suit?

[Carlos5460]

I did that , the bank will investigate and contact Airbnb to get their information which Airbnb will claim it was a family member or friend 

[Carlos5460 · Accepted solution]

The best answer is: file a police report in your local  law enforcement regarding the fraud. File an FTC complaint against AirBNB. File an FBI report for fraud if this fraud happened across state lines in the US. File a fraud report with the credit card. Don't let the bank agent tell you it's a disputed charge. It's fraud! Open a  case with Airbnb, you may have to chat on line, email or talk on the phone with 10 support agents. They are stubborn, they send you a scripted response that a family member or friend used your card. They won't share any information regarding the booking. I managed to find those details on the Credit card charge receipt from the bank. I saw the booking code, the name of the person who made the charge and the AIRbnb property posting. You can reach the host of the property from there. I did contact law enforcement from the town the property was located and filed a police report there too. The local Law enforcement will ask for evident which  you should be able to provide using the complaints filed. Since this case is still open, the officers plan to visit the fraudster at the airbnb property. I hope that person gets arrested. I will press charges. As for Airbnb, after 15 contact points and providing evident. I found Airbnbs response to the matter very very disappointing. Make's me want to consider using VRBO in the future. Have it not being for me having 5 open reservations right now, I would have canceled my account and never look at Airbnb again.

https://reportfraud.ftc.gov

https://complaint.ic3.gov/#