ID VERIFICATION AND FAKE PROFILES

[Andrea4560]

Last week I have had one apartment in Paris literally trashed by a gang of criminals that organised a 2 nights rave party.

The reservation came from a profile with Id and phone verification, and most disturbingly, with several 5 stars reviews. They presented themselves as a lovely family with 2 small kids, only to party ( with use of drugs) for 2 nights in a row leaving about €5000 in damages and counting: the smell of smoke is unbearable, puke, holes in the walls, a broken sink, clogged toilets, damaged floor, a broken piano...

Since then I have been targeted by these people, and I received strange enquiries  and also one reservation(football player name with ID verified...) from profiles with verified ID; at my request to provide full real names of all the occupants and to be all present upon arrival with photo ID, in addition to sign a responsibility agreement, they all disappeared.

I wonder if the security checks carried out by Airbnb need some serious improvement. In the past, I've always felt confident taking reservations from Airbnb as opposite to other platforms. This is not going to happen anymore.

I hope Airbnb won't let me down again.

Anyone had my same bad experience?

[Anthony223]

@Andrea4560 

Hi Andrea. I am shocked and disgusted by your experience.  I do hope that AirBNB's insurance will cover all your damage.  Luckily I have only ever had minor damage and small things stolen.

Best regards from Anthony

[Andrea4560]

Thank you Anthony. I hope Airbnb will answer also to my request of clarification about their ID verification process.

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Andrea4560 , wow, just wow. not sure what to say, thats awful, I think the first time that happened to me would be the last time I ever STR'd my space again, you actually can't trust Airbnb or any booking service to make sure something like this doesn't happen.   I believe I can say without a doubt that there are risks with remotely hosting (even 2 floors below) a space that put you at extreme risk of the worst case scenario like this.   I have had 2 bookings in 4 years I suspect would have turned into something like this if I didn't live in  the  home my spaces are in.   They obviously didn't realize its host occupied, one left immediately when they found out and the second got to meet the cranky old Inn Keeper a few times over the night, I dodged a bullet with that one.  BTW, both had good review....

[Andrea4560]

Hi Melodie, I've been in the industry for a while, over time had a few hiccups that, as you said, are part of game, but never had such serious problems . I have a process in place for reservations where I receive the payment directly. allowing me to spot fairly easily when things don't look right. For Airbnb, until now, I trusted they would do the same. Just last night I received in Paris, apartment next door, a reservation from a famous football player name ( ID verified, photo of a football player) for today. Upon request of additional info they disappeared, and they are supposed to check in today. It appears clear to me that they used probably a stolen card, and Airbnb doesn't have a clue;  they are insured for this, but it exposes the host to a dramatic outcome.

[Helen427]

@Andrea4560That trick of impersonation of a sports person isn't uncommon, it is however an offence.

Have you reported that to Police?

Police should be following up on it with the sports person to let them know if they are been impersonated. It's a heinous crime to be subjected to.

Maybe ABB systems have picked up on them as been spammers/ unlawful types in there reservation mechanisms. ABB will be aware of your situation with their Trust & Safety Team.

Keep safe.

[Andrea4560]

It appears clear to me that they used probably a stolen card, and Airbnb doesn't have a clue;  they are insured for this, but it exposes the host to a dramatic outcome.

[Emiel1]

@Andrea4560 

It even seems they destructed your belongings on purpose. Awfull people.

Hope you will follow the procedures for this very well:

https://www.airbnb.com/help/article/361/how-do-i-request-reimbursement-under-the-host-guarantee

And the question is indeed: how can those  "guests" use other people's profiles ?

"I wonder if the security checks carried out by Airbnb need some serious improvement"

Yes, they must !

[Melodie-And-John0]

@Emiel1 , Im pretty sure one of the 2 party POS's was the son of a MD in Dallas.   Punk kid using daddy's coattails, car and charge card to raise hell.   That is probably more likely in many cases, some connection with the persons picture on the account.  Ive become far less trusting now a-days, Airbnb cares about the money not the verification....Stay well, JR

[Ute42 · Accepted solution]

.

@Andrea4560  

You are offering 68 listings to rent in cities like Florence, London, Paris and the like. Basically You are running a hotel-like business without a reception and noone on site to control what's going on.

Also, You have 1100 reviews. If we assume that the average value of a typical rentalcontract is $300, so far You generated well over $300,000 in revenue through airbnb. A $5000 damage is 1.5% of said revenue and I think that is just the risk of running such an operation.

[Andrea4560]

You are completely missing the point.

Furthermore, you don't know me, and making assumptions based on number of reviews is wrong.

By the way, I do have people checking in and out the guests, and to assist them throughout their entire stay.

What happened to me, could have happened to anyone, regardless the number of listings, and it should raise concern about Airbnb verification process.

This was the point of my discussion.

[Helen350]

@Andrea4560 "The point is":

1) "This could happen to anyone." - Regular readers of this forum know this already, sadly, because there are many many similar posts to yours in the archives. Sadly, your experience is not new, you are the latest in a long line.

2) "It should raise concern about the Airbnb verification process." - What verification process? As far as I know there isn't one? - Yes, US guests may be run through a data base to check for the most serious, violent crimes. But there no system in place that reassures a host that all the vast majority without a record of extreme crime are decent guests, who will not trash a place. And I'm not convinced there are any checks on non-US guests...

[Andrea4560]

@Helen350 I'm referring to ID verified profiles, that are not verified at all.

Airbnb should ensure that these people are real, otherwise it's quite difficult for the hosts to take right decisions.

In my case, this is a profile of a woman with reviews as a family with kids, that turned out to be a completely different person. If this were a direct reservation, I would have been more cautious  as I always do. I was mislead by Airbnb. It seems to be that opening an account on Airbnb, for both Hosts and Guests, is far too easy. 

[Helen350]

@Andrea4560 Of course it's easy. Airbnb want as many bookings as possible; they have no vested interest in turning potential guests away.

Re verification, I was asked to verify myself by photographing my passport and uploading it to a page provided by Airbnb.

Maybe the holder of your guest's account did do that too, but allowed a 3rd party booking on his/her account?

It is actually YOUR job to check that guests are who they claim to be (if concerned), not Airbnbs. And it's YOUR job to vet your guests to allow the right sort, not Airbnbs. 

It's a myth that Airbnb regulate the quality/suitability of guests in some way... They don't!

[Andrea4560]

@Helen350 of course it is my job, but if if the problem is at the source I cannot possibly have the right tools to tackle fraudsters.

Airbnb took the payment, and presented ID verified with fabolous review guests. Now, either these people suddenly went out of mind and from being a lovely couple with kids became a group of criminals, OR the info provided by Airbnb was completely wrong.