Warning over Booking.com scam after holidaymaker loses nearly £1,000

Criminals have targeted Booking.com customers (Credits: Getty Images)

UK holidaymakers have lost hundreds of pounds to scammers impersonating hotels on Booking.com.

Holiday planning is perfect escapism – searching for flights and browsing for hotels at stunning locations before securing a good deal.

But unscrupulous scammers are taking advantage of excited holidaymakers with convincing fraud.

British holidaymakers have been targeted by scammers through Booking.com, impersonating hotels they were meant to stay with, This is Money reports.

One woman reportedly lost £900 to a hotel scam during her trip.

Criminals are targeting holidaymakers with convincing tricks (Credits: Getty Images)

Booking.com assured customers that its website or app have not been breached.

Fraudsters gain access to the accounts of hotels and apartments, using them to message customers and ask for additional payments under various disguises.

Holiday scam victims

Becky, whose name was changed at her request, lost £900 to a Booking.com scam while travelling in Thailand in October last year, according to This is Money.

She suddenly received a late-night message through the Booking.com appon her way to a hotel for a one night stay, appearing to be from hotel staff.

It asked her for a payment in Thai Baht currency, warning her if she did not pay the booking would be cancelled.

She told the outlet: ‘I should have picked up that this was more than I paid for the hotel, but it was obviously in a different currency and when you are panicking your booking may be cancelled whilst on route in the middle of the night, it’s not your first thought.’

Holiday scams are on the rise, banks have warned (Credits: Getty Images)

A spokesperson for Booking.com told Metro.co.uk that Becky was refunded on March 12 for the full £910.

Another customer called Jean (not her real name) revealed to This is Money how she was forced to rebook hotel rooms for £800 more.

She believes a scammer logged into her Booking.com account and cancelled multiple bookings for hotels in London.

Jean found out scammers had cancelled nine rooms she had booked for a work event in London in March after she received an email from Booking.com confirming the unexpected cancellation.

Her own holiday to a different hotel later in the year was also cancelled by criminals.

Jean told the hotel it was not her, only to be told ‘they were cancelled by me, using my Booking.com account,’ the outlet reports.

More frustratingly, she had recently changed her password after reading a story about Booking.com scams.

Spotting scams is becoming harder and harder as fraudsters impersonate legitimate names (Credits: Getty Images)

‘I have had emails saying someone else has been trying to access my account and change my password, and I assume they must have got in,’ she said.

She tried to reinstate the bookings via Booking.com but they ‘couldn’t do anything because the booking was cancelled.’

The hotel also told her their hands were tied as the booking was made via a third party, she said.

Jean was forced to dish out £800 more to re-book the same rooms.

Scammers also reset and deleted her personal information, meaning she lost rewards she had built for being a loyal user.

Booking.com allegedly declined to compensate Jean when This is Money contacted them.

Rhiannon from Warwickshire had pre-booked two nights at a Hampton by Hilton hotel in Blackburn for a friend’s wedding this summer.

When she received another message from the hotel she assumed it was genuine as she had already messaged back and forth with them and the new message appeared on the same chat log, the outlet reports.

The message claimed the hotel was changing its system and she was asked to provide her card details again to secure the booking.

They needed a small amount of money, which would be refunded, the message said.

A holiday should be free of stress and worry (Credits: Getty Images)

First, just a £4 was taken from her account, followed by another £144.72.

Booking.com told her to contact the hotel directly who said they did not take this money and ‘it sounded like a scam.’

Thankfully, Rhiannon’s bank refunded her, but ‘Booking.com didn’t seem bothered by what had happened,’ she said.

The ordeal ‘put me off using them in the future,’ she added.

A spokesperson for Booking.com told Metro.co.uk its systems were not breached, but its accommodation partners have been ‘targeted with really convincing tactics by cyber criminals.’

Tactics include encouraging customers to click on links or attachments, which then allows malware to load onto their machines and ‘in some cases giving unauthorised access to their Booking.com account.’

They continued: ‘While thankfully the actual numbers of accommodations affected by this scam are a small fraction of those on our platform, we absolutely understand the seriousness for those impacted, which is why our teams have been working diligently to support our partners in securing their systems as quickly as possible and helping any potentially impacted customers accordingly, including with recovering any lost funds.’

Customers should report suspicious messages to Booking.com customer service team and ‘to further protect themselves, customers can also carefully check the payment policy details outlined on the property listing page and in the booking confirmation,’ they added.

How to avoid holiday scams?

UK’s leading banks have urged holidaymakers to stay vigilant amid new and advanced techniques used by criminals.

HSBC said that scams involving ‘hotel bookings are on the rise.’

Here are some tips from the bank on how to stay safe from fraud.

What to look out for to spot a hotel scam

Direct messages

Fraudsters send messages or links asking for payments which may come directly from the booking app or platform.

Unfortunately, the messages often contain accurate booking information like your hotel name or dates, which makes it even harder to spot a scam.

Alerts saying there’s a problem

Some of the messages or links might say there’s a problem with your card. Be vigilant if any messages claim that your booking was cancelled and you need to pay again.

How to stay safe

Stop and check directly with the hotel

Call your hotel directly if you receive an unexpected request for payment – even if it comes through an official booking app or platform.

Using a credit card to pay for a holiday booking may be safer as it is more likely you will get your money back if something goes wrong, although using a credit card may incur a cost depending on your bank.

If you’ve suspect you’ve been a victim, call the number on the back of your card immediately to contact your bank.

Have you been a victim of a Booking.com scam? Contact [email protected] to share your experience.

Get in touch with our news team by emailing us at [email protected].

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