“There was a problem with your payment”: Booking and Airbnb hit by a wave of scams

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Be careful if you book accommodation on Booking or Airbnb. Both platforms are the target of a large-scale scam. It is based on a ploy that is as simple as it is effective: a fake payment error message.

Victims receive a seemingly legitimate email or text message informing them that there was a ’problem with the payment of their booking”. This message, designed to sow panic and encourage rapid action, redirects users to a fraudulent website, a near-perfect clone of the official Booking or Airbnb website.

The level of customization is such that even the most seasoned users can be fooled.Telekopye cybercriminals don't just create generic pages, they use real data, probably obtained through data leaks or the purchase of hacked accounts on criminal forums. So, when a victim accesses the fake site, they will find precise information about their booking: arrival and departure dates, price, place of stay. This attention to detail is often enough to silence the last suspicions of the most suspicious users.

Perfect copies

“Scammers mainly target users who have recently made a booking without immediate payment, or those whose payment is very recent. This method makes the scam particularly difficult to detect, as the information is highly personalized and the sites appear authentic in every way, says Radek Jizba, a researcher at Eset, a cybersecurity company that closely monitors Telekopye's activities.

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The ultimate goal of this manipulation is, of course, to trick victims into re-entering their bank details, under the pretext of “correcting” the fictitious payment problem. Once they have this information, the scammers can empty bank accounts or make fraudulent purchases with complete impunity.

What particularly worries cybersecurity experts is the democratization of these scam techniques. Telekopye is not just a group of hackers, it is a real “toolbox” provision of scammers, even without advanced technical skills. This industrialization of fraud allows criminal networks with thousands of members to operate on a large scale, causing financial losses in the millions of euros.

How to avoid being trapped ?

Faced with this threat, vigilance remains the best defense.Experts recommend always checking the URL of the site before entering sensitive information. A redirection to an address other than that of the official site should immediately arouse suspicion. It is also essential to never click on links received by email or SMS to access your account; it is better to type the site address directly into your browser.

Booking and Airbnb, for their part, are issuing increasing warnings to their users. Both platforms insist that they will never ask to re-enter payment information via a link sent by email or SMS. They encourage their customers to contact their customer service directly if they have any doubts about a message received.

• A wave of sophisticated scams targets Booking and Airbnb users
• Scammers are using real booking data to create very convincing fraudulent sites
• Booking and Airbnb have warned their customers, but vigilance remains the best defense against these scams

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