Two what I feel were Scam Request for Bookings.

[Teresa2362]

Just wanted to verify my spidey senses were accurate.  I've had two booking requests that I feel were likely scams.  Three things that was common in the requests were 1) a longer stay than normal renters.  The first was for 3 weeks and the last one was for two days.  My house is a in a fishing town and typically weekenders rent, and 2) Both renters profiles were created in 2024, no reviews.  The second one had a whole story on his profile about how he had a previous account but deleted it because of a bad experience.  Seems strange to put that on your profile.  and 3) I have instant booking turned on and both conversations started as a request for certain dates.  If they wanted it for that time, they could have booked it.

The first one had me worried just because of the amount of time (I have a fear of squatters).  Then as we got into it, they told me they wanted to pay via cashiers check off line.  Nope.. sorry.   This second one they asked for a video of my place.  I'm thinking that would also take the conversation off site, or show what kind of security I had.  I nipped that one on the spot.  Told him I wasn't the place for him.

are these pretty common scams?

[Greg2406]

@Teresa2362 

Go with your instincts and by all means, turn Instant Booking off. 

 We are also in a beach/fishing destination town and during our first few months, we had a 33% damage/incident resulting in thousands in damages to our home.   We quickly became Olympic Medal level vetter's after that.   A very detailed set of House Rules is critical.   Next, during the vetting period, learn what questions to ask, and that comes with time and even talking to other Hosts.  Don't ever be hesitant to decline a booking,...if one red flag pops up,...decline.   

If you do decide to book for anything over 7 consecutive days, you had better make them have maximum damage insurance, 5 to 10K if its a house.  Next, anything over 10 days, you have it written in the online description as well as the House Rules that you or an authorized representative of yours, will be doing an inspection of the property at "X" times during the booking period.     

We now have a really good set of House Rules that every Guest must sign before entering the property.  If they refuse to sign, as it is listed as being required in your online listing, they are not allowed into the property.    

[Alicia753]

Hi Teresa,

Yes, your instincts were spot-on. These types of situations are common red flags for scams on Airbnb. Here’s a breakdown of why each of those factors may indicate potential fraud:

Longer stays than usual: Scammers often request longer stays, particularly to establish a presence and create a legal or logistical challenge, like squatter concerns. If it's out of the norm for your area, that’s definitely a reason to be cautious.

Profiles created recently with no reviews: New accounts with no reviews are often linked to scammers. While legitimate new users do exist, scammers frequently create fresh profiles to avoid detection or use fake details to make a quick score.

Requesting off-platform communication or payment: Asking for payments outside Airbnb, such as via cashier’s check, is a classic scam tactic to bypass Airbnb’s protections. Similarly, requesting a video of your place could be a way to gather information about security or vulnerabilities.

It's great that you identified these red flags and acted accordingly. Trust your gut, and it’s always better to stay within the platform’s communication and payment system to avoid scams.

I hope this helps.

All the best,

Upfish Management

[Zheng49]

@Teresa2362 Yes both cases seem like scam requests to me as well. 

You made the right call here. 

PS in order to deal with squatters, set a maximum duration. For example, we have set a maximum duration of 25 days. Any stays longer than that, they will need to send us a booking request. Any stays below that, basically they can instant book.

Scammers almost never instant book, they prefer to send you suspicious requests like what you've experienced. 

[Elisa]

Hi @Teresa2362 😊

Thank you for asking this in the community!

I’m sorry to hear about this situation. Hopefully, other Hosts have given you great answers.

Could you please let us know if you solved your problem by marking one of those answers as the "best answer"?

Warm regards 🌻,

[Michael9425]

I have received three separate requests for long stays, with the potential guest only asking if the dates that they selected were available. My spidey sense was tingling with all three, and I ultimately ended up declining all three requests. They were sent about 1 month apart, and very similar in nature: All requests were made in Chinese, then translated automatically to English. All initially provided no detail on the nature of the stay, or the number of people staying. One of them asked for a video of the property, which I promptly declined. All ultimately disguised a number in their message asking that I call to discuss details outside of Airbnb platform, or suggested some other off platform discussion. Two of the three said they were doing marketing studies on red wine, or medical devices in my area. All were brand new to Airbnb, and had no booking history. I would love to take these bookings, but they just don't seem legit. I am not sure of the exact nature of the scam, but definitely feel that it is a scam! Bottom line: if it doesn't seem legit, it probably isn't. 

[Joan2709]

@Michael9425 

Yes...these are scams.

Here is a thread that talks about it:

https://community.withairbnb.com/t5/Host-Circle/Booking-Requests-All-Fraud/m-p/1733817#M35295