Airbnb scam
Sep 24th, 2014, 07:40 AM
#101
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<i> I AM NOT A FAN OF AIRBNB and would NEVER, repeat NEVER, jeopardize my hard earned money, nor safety.<?i>
What is true of NYC is not universal. But there is the difficulty of knowing where this type of issue exists elsewhere.
What is true of NYC is not universal. But there is the difficulty of knowing where this type of issue exists elsewhere.
Oct 1st, 2014, 02:28 AM
#102
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Booked accommodation through airbnb. airbnb client took my money, no accommodation provided. Airbnb refused to take responsibility and refused to refund me. EBAY and Amazon would assume responsibility and protect the integrity of their markets. Not Airbnb. Their market has no integrity and is doomed. BEWARE! DO NOT USE AIRBNB!
Oct 27th, 2014, 10:50 PM
#105
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Although Airbnb may be viewed by some as a great service scams on Airbnb are not uncommon and users should be aware.
By way of example, a recent property advertised in Sydney was simply a scammed copy of a listing on another popular Australian rental site.
Airbnb implies that they have security measures in place. I note, however, that in this example Airbnb still permitted the copied advertised property to list on the Airbnb site with the e-mail address of the scammer provided in a picture format.
As Airbnb's scanning system is not sufficiently advanced enough to process text in picture format the whole Airbnb text scanning security system was immediately bypassed by the scammer.
When I contacted Airbnb to advise them of this scam they were disinterested in viewing the source files and simply stated that all users should use the Airbnb e-mail system... now that sure is a way of showing appreciation.
Until Airbnb provides a real "verification" of users (i.e. more security than that provided by a LinkedIn and Facebook account) and proper scanning of images then undoubtedly scammers will continue to make use of Airbnb as their preferred and free marketing medium.
If you are to use Airbnb make sure you don't make direct contact with hosts, however, my advice is to look around at other rental sites which have lower fees, better security measures than Airbnb, and internet security teams that actually give a damn!
By way of example, a recent property advertised in Sydney was simply a scammed copy of a listing on another popular Australian rental site.
Airbnb implies that they have security measures in place. I note, however, that in this example Airbnb still permitted the copied advertised property to list on the Airbnb site with the e-mail address of the scammer provided in a picture format.
As Airbnb's scanning system is not sufficiently advanced enough to process text in picture format the whole Airbnb text scanning security system was immediately bypassed by the scammer.
When I contacted Airbnb to advise them of this scam they were disinterested in viewing the source files and simply stated that all users should use the Airbnb e-mail system... now that sure is a way of showing appreciation.
Until Airbnb provides a real "verification" of users (i.e. more security than that provided by a LinkedIn and Facebook account) and proper scanning of images then undoubtedly scammers will continue to make use of Airbnb as their preferred and free marketing medium.
If you are to use Airbnb make sure you don't make direct contact with hosts, however, my advice is to look around at other rental sites which have lower fees, better security measures than Airbnb, and internet security teams that actually give a damn!
Jul 14th, 2015, 02:48 AM
#106
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If you sent the host any identifying information, like your name, your city, they could google you and find your email address, especially if they are good at cheating people and have programs to find these things. Anyone can find out the real name of someone if they have a few clues by googling what they do have. Then they can use your email address to pretend to be making a sanctioned airbnb transaction. Don't feel too bad, it wasn't your fault! They were the ones who were dishonest.
Jul 14th, 2015, 01:23 PM
#110
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I hope these threads stay alive because friends of mine were just SUPER scammed.. with a hacking on ownerdirect in Ibiza, for a HUGE house for two families high season.. . so.. it DOES happen.
I'm not sure they saw any red flags. Waiting ot hear more details when they get back.
Fortunately the bank account used to receive transfer is here in Madrid, so they HOPE the police can trace this more easily. We shall see.
I'm not sure they saw any red flags. Waiting ot hear more details when they get back.
Fortunately the bank account used to receive transfer is here in Madrid, so they HOPE the police can trace this more easily. We shall see.
Jul 14th, 2015, 02:20 PM
#111
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<i>I hope these threads stay alive because friends of mine were just SUPER scammed..</i>
Wouldn't the obvious red flag be a deposit to a bank account when it comes to airbnb? I just prepaid for a room, but my understanding is that the owners do not get the money until 24 hours after our first night there.
Wouldn't the obvious red flag be a deposit to a bank account when it comes to airbnb? I just prepaid for a room, but my understanding is that the owners do not get the money until 24 hours after our first night there.
Jul 14th, 2015, 04:33 PM
#113
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I found a similar 'too good to be true' rental in Craigslist...yes we were a little desperate. I got a response back from the individual who claimed to be the property manager, sent me laughable contracts with misspellings, demanded a 50% deposit wired to a bank account. She was stupid enough to give me her full name and two Wells Fargo account numbers. If those are legit, I don't know. I did enough investigating to find that the home was actually on the market or available to rent for 4x what I was being 'charged'. I contacted the Sarasota sheriff's department, sent them the information and hopefully, they will close her down. The odd thing was when contacted the real estate office representing the sellers and they could have cared less. Funny...if i had someone falsely renting one of my listing, I'd be out there in a heartbeat to make sure there were no squatters or that the locks had been picked and changed!
Jul 15th, 2015, 01:20 PM
#116
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I did say so in my post.. BEFORE I repeated i for clarification. It was "ownerdirect".. but basically.. similar systems and scams on rentals. Little difference.
Just a heads up as there is a lot of this going on.
Just a heads up as there is a lot of this going on.
Jul 15th, 2015, 03:43 PM
#117
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With ownerdirect, doesn't the renter pay the owner or property manager directly? It looks like that on the website. In that respect, Ownerdirect is the opposite of Airbnb. If anyone advertising on Airbnb asked for money to be paid to them directly, I would refuse and not do business with them because they are trying to cheat by using Airbnb for advertising and not pay their commission to Airbnb. Paying the owner directly is not how Airbnb works.
With Airbnb, anyway, the renter is supposed to pay Airbnb, and the owner is paid only after the renter has checked in. If the renter is not happy with the place and does not stay, they contact Airbnb and the owner does not get paid. That is if the renter follows the rules for Airbnb. If the renter simply does not check in and also does not cancel, the the owner will get paid, at least for the first night. If the renter does not like the place, but still decides to stay, the owner gets paid. That has been the case in my transactions with them. I gave no money to the owners, not a penny.
With Airbnb, anyway, the renter is supposed to pay Airbnb, and the owner is paid only after the renter has checked in. If the renter is not happy with the place and does not stay, they contact Airbnb and the owner does not get paid. That is if the renter follows the rules for Airbnb. If the renter simply does not check in and also does not cancel, the the owner will get paid, at least for the first night. If the renter does not like the place, but still decides to stay, the owner gets paid. That has been the case in my transactions with them. I gave no money to the owners, not a penny.
Aug 9th, 2015, 09:56 PM
#118
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My husband and I have used Airbrb as travelers several times, in the US and now this summer in Europe. All have been very good positive experiences. Except this latest one. We booked an apartment in Athens with great reviews, pictures, referrals and long-time hosts. The communication was good, however it has been through a management company called "Eazybnb Team. The day before arriving we received a message saying "unfortunately, something came up and we can't be there to meet you, so please pick up the keys at this address, which happened to be a parking lot. We looked over the reviews and sure enough others people had done the same. We also weren't too surprised as in the past we have picked up keys at places like laudromats etc. after picking up the keys we proceed about 3blocks to the flat. Also,the cab driver from the airport was quite surprised we were staying in that neighbourhood, he said it was a little on the "sketchy"side. But the the airbnb posting said it was really central and in a good hood. When we arrived at the flat, there were three padlocks on the door, the area around the door was littered with flyers and junk mail. At that point we were skeptical to go inside. My husband unlocked the door, and what we saw/found looked like a crime scene, or crack house. We only popped our heads in. We immediately locked up, and literally ran down the 2flighta of stairs and got out of there. We went to the nearest olive station, they listened to our story/situation but didn't really want to get involved. They said we could go back and call emergency police. But they also said it was a bad hood, and didn't recommend we go back. They were compassionate and nice. Found us a hotel. We messages airbnb ASAP. Have sent them 5-6messages, it's been 3days and we have not heard a peep from them. We also tried calling the airbnb in Greece but there is a long que of about 30minutes on hold and we cannot hold up the hotel line for that long. We also called the airbnb host number, but it's out of service. We have some financial wounds, perhaps we'll be able to recoup. Right now this whole thing is a mystery. We haven't contacted the host via the airbnb site as to the police instructions. We have one more night here in Athens and we may send them a message, giving them instructions to retrieve the keys. We are suppose to leave them with parking ate exempt however that's not going to happen. Long story......will we use airbnb again? Yup, one booked in Berlin.
