Online platforms can make it easier and cheaper to organise travel on your own, but an increase in accommodation scams puts a damper on the shiny promise.
With the news of booking.com scams leaving travellers out in the cold, here's how to check if your accommodation booking is legitimate, and how to avoid being scammed when booking in the first place.
- Common accommodation scams
- Signs of a scam
- Staying safe while booking online
- What to do if you are worried you've been scammed
Common accommodation scams to watch out for
Fake listings on accommodation booking websites are an increasingly common scam that consumer advocacy group Choice has seen emerge over the last year.
They have been reported on popular platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
"What happens here is they [scammers] set up a listing on those hosting websites, and get people's money, get those deposits, and then when people turn up to stay there, they even find the building they thought they'd stay at wasn't accommodation after all, or it doesn't even exist," says Liam Kennedy, a scam expert at Choice.
"And obviously they've been robbed of some money."
Another scam that has emerged is hotels having their profiles hacked on third-party platforms such as Booking.com, Mr Kennedy says.
The scammers then start messaging people who have made a booking, pretending to be the hotel and claiming there has been an issue with payment, or asking to reconfirm sensitive identity details, he says.
The signs of a scam
A telltale sign of an accommodation scam is a deal that is too good to be true, Mr Kennedy says.
"If the property is in a really popular holiday spot, and it looks really good, all the photos are amazing, but, crucially, it's much cheaper than those around it … that could be a red flag," he explains.
Another red flag is a very new property listing or one that doesn't have many reviews, or a listing where the reviews look suspicious, he says.
"A lot of these fake listings … do get taken down quite quickly. Often, they come and go in quite short periods of time," he explains.
If an accommodation provider tries to direct you off the platform to pay, it's safest to say no because it could be a scam, he says.
"The accommodation companies themselves, if you ask them, will always say [they] encourage consumers just to stay on platform and pay through there."
It's also a good idea to do a quick online search to check if there are any previous reports of scams linked to the same property, Mr Kennedy says.
It could be as simple as putting the address or name of the property into a search engine with the word 'scam' and seeing what results come up.
"If someone else has had an experience with that particular property, and believe it to be a scam, they might be sharing that somewhere."
Tips for staying safe while booking online
It is always a good idea to do some background checking on an accommodation provider before booking on a third-party platform such as Airbnb or Booking.com, says Suranga Seneviratne, a senior lecturer in cyber security at the University of Sydney.
You can also do this if you have already booked to confirm your booking is legitimate.
"Do they have a website? If there is a website, do they actually list Booking.com as one of the methods of booking?" Dr Seneviratne asks.
"Can you verify with a few other sources, rather than just relying on one advertisem*nt you see on one of these platforms? Can you give them a call, for example?"
If you receive an email from someone who claims to be an accommodation provider, Dr Seneviratne's advice is to read all the information carefully to check that it is coming from a legitimate source before taking any action.
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"There will be some emails which will appear as Booking.com but if you check the email header and actual sender, you might see that it's actually a different domain name," he explains.
But that might not be helpful if the service provider has been hacked and impersonated, which has happened to Booking.com, he adds.
"I know it's quite inconvenient, but it might be better to take the phone up and talk the accommodation provider directly."
Before you call, verify any phone numbers listed on booking sites against phone numbers listed on other platforms, such as the hotel's website.
If an email or SMS contains links, it's better to be cautious and not click on them, says Dr Seneviratne.
Some scammers pose as reputable companies and send out text messages or emails containing links that aim to dupe a user into revealing personal information. This is known as phishing.
"If you get a message that is claiming to be from Booking.com and contains a link, first thing to do is not to click the link but log on to Booking.com from their app or web portal and see what's happening, do you have a notification there, he says.
Dr Seneviratne recommends turning on two-factor authentication whenever possible.
Two-factor authentication is an added security measure where a username and a password are not enough to log in to a service, but a single-use code is also needed.
"Sometimes your usernames and passwords get compromised," he says.
"An attacker … will try to log in by entering the username and password, and that is one factor, but now we can add another factor."
You can typically choose to receive the one-time login code via text message or email, or in some cases an authenticator app, such as Google Authenticator, Dr Seneviratne explains.
"If you go to Booking.com, under security there is a place where you can enable two factor authentication, and I suggest everyone to actually do it."
Another safety measure is to keep a separate credit card for online transactions, he says.
What to do if you think you've been scammed
If you've made a booking and are concerned it may be a scam, the first step is to contact your financial institution to see if they can stop any impending payments, Mr Kennedy says.
"Don't provide any more money or information. A common thing with scams is, once you've made one payment, they'll start coming with reasons for you to make more, so cut off all contact," he says.
"It can be too late, but in some instances the bank can intervene in time and stop that money going through.
"After that, we recommend securing your personal information. If you provided sensitive details to someone who you believe to be a scammer, there are organisations out there that can help mitigate the harm that might come out of that."
One such service is IDCARE, Australia's national identity and cyber support service, which offers free advice over the phone.
Mr Kennedy says it is also worth reporting the scam to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's (ACCC) Scam Watch.
"If you've lost money, you can also lodge a report with Report Cyber, that's a website run by the Australian Cyber Security Centre, and reports taken through there are passed on to police, but that's if you're actually out of pocket," he says.
If you've ended up in financial trouble because of a scam, you can speak to financial counsellors for free through the national debt helpline at 1800 007 007.
Fake listings 'not super common'
Fake listings aren't that common, Mr Kennedy says, and using online platforms can be helpful for finding the best deal.
"These fake listings are out there, but they're not super common from what we see and what we hear," he says.
"There's still plenty of people who are using accommodation booking websites to have a good holiday, and it's going off without a hitch."
If you see a good listing, it can pay off to go on the hotel's own website to see what their best offer is.
"All these services can be useful to consumers in terms of shopping around to find a good deal, which is something we always encourage."
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