Scam?

[Megan1262]

I’m a little concerned that this may be a scam. It looks a little different than what I’m used to seeing but there are a couple similarities. Let me know your thoughts! The reservation is for 2.5 months and the guest has no reviews. 

 

 

 

[Zheng49]

i actually got something similar (earlier today), so i immediately blocked one of the dates to prevent the reservation altogether. I also immediately added the requirement of 'Good Track Record' which effectively blocks her from instant booking because she has no prior trips taken on that account. 

I'm getting strong vibes of either a scam or a guest I don't want inside my home. 

I don't see a need for video call, because the pictures are already there, the location is verified (by Airbnb), and there are a lot of reviews for the listing. What more do you want?

The guest suspects the "authenticity" of my listing, but tbh I also suspect the authenticity of this guest, seeing as it's new and 0 reviews lol. 

Overall, I feel like if the guest is not a good fit, then we should not allow the reservation to happen in the first place. As it's very hard to impossible to cancel a reservation once it's confirmed. 

[Joan2709 · Accepted solution]

@Megan1262 

Common scam...they are trying to get your phone number and address and then will try to get you to communicate off-platform. Was this an inquiry or a request to book?

You can block further messages by reporting the guest to Airbnb using the flag icon to the right of message thread or click the 3 dots in the message thread:

[Bob1535]

Hi Joan,

I'm in the middle of this same attempt. It's the same text. I want to report the account, but before submitting it asks "Where did they share their contact info?" They haven't done that, so I don't know what I'm supposed to do.

[Joan2709]

@Bob1535 

They will eventually try to get you to communicate via WhatsApp off platform. You can wait until that happens if you like. They'll probably continue sending strange requests for information and may even request a video of the property and provide a round about phone number trying to disguise it is a phone number so Airbnb won't automatically flag it.

[Bob1535]

Wow you're right! I just had to ask a couple more questions. Thanks. Should I just mute or archive the conversation now?

Last night I had asked what they hope to do on their two month vacation (in a very remote part of Michigan's Upper Peninsula). 

"I'm just a simple past travel getaway and chill out.Eating, drinking, entertaining is my only purpose lol"

"What kind of restaurants do you like?"

"Honestly, I prefer Chinese restaurants."

There's one bar and one restaurant within 10 miles. The nearest Chinese restaurant is a very questionable buffet 40 minutes away. I'm not sure we're a good fit for each other 😁 . 

[Joan2709]

@Bob1535 

No need to "decline" an inquiry. Just go to the right panel and click "Report this Guest" under their profile. That should prevent any further communication to you. I believe you can "block" the guest as well...I think you get an option to do that?

You will see a notice (usually within 24 hours) that the guest's profile has been removed by Airbnb.

[Bob1535]

It's been several days. I haven't heard more from the spammer, but I don't see any change in their profile status. 

[Joan2709]

@Bob1535 

I think it depends on what you said they were being reported for?  It has always been tried to communicate off platform or something like that?

[Quincy]

Hello @Megan1262, were you able to see Joan's helpful advice? It'd be great if you could let us know howe everything went. 

[Megan1262]

Thank you all for your input! Eventually the guests asked to take the conversation off Airbnb at which point I knew for sure that it was a scam. So I declined and reported.