How to tell a fake id

[Wendy1854]

Hi everyone I’ve had a person contact me “A” that’s all it said. They have Chinese symbols on there correspondence and want to book 5 months. Since I’m new it seems scammy. Any input?

[Alicia753]

Hi Wendy,

It's a good idea to trust your instincts when something feels off. In this case, the lack of information, vague communication, and a request for a long-term stay without much discussion do raise some concerns.

Try asking the potential guest for more details about their stay, including the reason for the visit and the number of guests, to gauge their response. Make sure any payments are processed through Airbnb and avoid any off-platform transactions.

If you're still uncertain, reaching out to Airbnb support for verification is a good step to ensure everything is legitimate.

Additonally, there are several websites and apps that provide Know Your Customer (KYC) services, allowing businesses or individuals to perform identity verification on their clients or users.

These tools help verify identity documents, perform background checks, and meet compliance requirements. Some of the most popular platforms for doing your own KYC include:

Jumio: Known for its robust identity verification solutions, Jumio offers document verification, facial recognition, and other services to help businesses stay compliant with KYC regulations.

Onfido: A platform that helps businesses verify the identity of their users by combining AI with human experts. It supports document verification and biometric checks.

Sumsub: Provides KYC, KYB (Know Your Business), and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) compliance services. It allows you to perform identity checks in real-time and ensure your clients meet regulatory standards.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Upfish Management

[Helen3]

As a new host I wouldn't take such a long term booking @Wendy1854 

Focus on building up shorter stays of weekends or a week or two to help build up your experience of hosting.

It would be much better to set a maximum stay of two or three weeks that people can use on instant booking and guests have to request longer stays.  (Unless there are STR regulations in your area requiring longer stays).

do have a look at the Airbnb Help website it has FAQs about how to manage your listing on Airbnb

you don't see the guests photos until they book but should see their name.

by the way under Airbnb t&cs hosts are meant to provide a photo of themselves not of a horse . Just as hosts are concerned about guests, guests will be concerned about new hosts and you don't want to give them reason to think you are trying to hide something