How to avoid Airbnb scams and what to look out for

Forged images that exaggerate with the standard of accommodation were the second most common problem, followed by burglary of accounts where fraudsters seize a customer’s account to make and pay for a reservation.

Less common scams included false claims, fictitious fees, false lists, and false estimates.

Is my Airbnb a scam?

Fortunately, there are ways to detect problems on rental sites. Be careful with all lists

• Properties with or without low ratings. While real estate can be new, it can also be a scam. Check to see if the owner has a list of other properties with good or bad ratings or has previous posts on other sites
• Requirements for cash payments, bank transfers or even payments in cryptocurrencies. This is a warning sign of fraud. There are no good, legitimate reasons to avoid the site’s payment systems
• Ads sent by email. These sometimes lead to cloned sites that look like a real rental site but aren’t
• Another warning sign of fraud is the owner’s contact information list. This can be sold as an attempt to avoid site fees and save you money. However, it will also void any warranties or protections you may receive, and you will be on your own if you lose money.
• Amazing offers. There’s a good reason it’s so cheap, and it won’t make you happy
• Famous ads. If an apartment, cottage or house is listed more than once, at least one of the entries may be a scam

How to avoid scams Airbnb

Any suspicion would likely mean a cancellation of the reservation. If you are suspicious, go ahead, cheat and lose money, you will not feel good

Instead, report suspicious ads to the site in question.

If you have to, a little detective work can help confirm your suspicions. Try reverse image search by image. If they exist elsewhere on the same site, a scam is underway. View your address using Google Street View. It matches?

Of course, guests are not the only ones victims of these scams and hosts can also lose. Owners reported thefts and guests used their property as entertainment venues while stealing credit cards. The hosts also complained that the guests were blackmailing them for good grades.

Airbnb said customers “should never send money, provide credit card information or otherwise pay the host directly for the stay and report individual incidents to us.”

The company added: “We provide information on why you should pay and communicate only through Airbnb and what to do if you need to pay for the platform. Our secure messaging tool allows users to get in touch with each other with any questions before booking being. “

The company withholds payment for up to 24 hours after check-in time, they wrote.