So, you’ve got your holiday planned out and your hotel booked. But then, the hotel sends you a message. You need to confirm your reservation with your credit card details or transfer more funds to secure the reservation, or your booking might be forfeited. Desperate not to lose your hard-won booking, you comply, only to find that the actual hotel has no such record of this transaction. You’ve sadly fallen for the latest Booking.com scam.
In this article, we’ll be telling you a bit more about this new (yet recurring) form of fraud and how to avoid it.
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Anatomy of the Scam
The steps above detail how a victim falls prey to a scam, but what are the specifics? While individual steps may vary, the Booking.com fake confirmation scam follows this basic pattern:
- A hotel or accommodation has its computers hacked or compromised.
- An email, WhatsApp, or text message is sent to clients in the database that claims to be from Booking.com (or a similar online booking agency). These messages can be quite convincing, complete with fonts and logos.
- The message requests additional confirmation and/or payment, and provides a link to do so.
- The victim enters personal information and/or banking details and transfers funds to “prevent” their booking from being canceled. The scammers receive the money and end contact.
It’s a nasty shock, especially when these funds might be needed for the upcoming vacation. That said, there are a few red flags to watch out for that can be helpful.
Spotting the Fake Booking.com Confirmation Scam
As with all scams we report on, there are a number of similar warnings to watch out for, as well as specifics relating to the Booking.com scam. It’s important to note that Booking.com itself is very aware of the myriad different scams perpetrated in its name and has the experience to help. Let’s take a look:
- Beware the Urgency – Almost all digital scams prey upon a sense of urgency. In this instance, the danger of your booking will be canceled, and your vacation ruined. Such messaging prompts users into action. If you receive such a message, check the status of your booking directly with the accommodation or Booking.com itself through official channels, not the link provided.
- Sensitive Information – The rule that holds true for banks also applies to the Booking.com scam. The site will never ask you to give personal information and banking details over any channels other than the app or website. Any messages outside these platforms should be viewed with suspicion.
- Dodgy Hyperlinks – When in doubt, check out (but don’t click on) the hyperlink the message is trying to take you to or the sender of your message. Only trust correspondence from URLs and addresses that match Booking.com exactly. Scammers use similar addresses or throw numbers into links to confuse victims and get around URL restrictions, but these are almost always fraudulent, leading you to random computers operated from Cayman Islands or Japan.
- Confirmation Numbers – Double-check the confirmation number in the message with that of your booking. Some scammers send messages to a large number of users, without knowing the exact bookings, in the hope that some might fall for it. While the correct confirmation number isn’t necessarily a guarantee of legitimacy, it’s a good step in the right direction.
- Report the Scam – If you suspect the message you’ve received is a scam, inform Booking.com immediately, so they can keep others from getting hurt. Simply log in to the official site or app and head to messages, where there’s an option to report fraud.
If you have fallen for the scam or entered any info before realizing the fraud, you must change your passwords right away. If you’ve given your banking details, especially credit card information, it’s a good idea to freeze these accounts until the matter is resolved.
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When my sweet old grandmother got caught up in an Amazon gift card scam, I decided then and there that I needed to do whatever I could to inform as many people as possible about the grifters of the world. That’s what I do here – writing about modern scams so you don’t get caught out.
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