Airbnb scam cost me £920
I was recently the victim of a scam via Airbnb’s website when booking an apartment in Barcelona. While browsing through the accommodation offers, I used the red “contact the host” link to send an email to the owner of an attractive apartment. The owner was listed as being “verified” on the site.
The apartment owner, Alfonso, replied to my email saying that the apartment was available on the dates I had requested and gave details of the rental cost and payment details. His email was pitch perfect, with a granular level of detail in all the right places. The email was sent from the address: Airbnbbooking@express-airbnb.com. Unfortunately, I was no longer dealing through Airbnb’s website – even though the email had a header saying “Pay secure with Airbnb.com”. This gave an “Airbnb” payment code and said I should transfer the €1,290 (£920) for the rental to an account in Spain by bank transfer.