When deciding between a hotel and an Airbnb, there are many reasons to choose the latter. These popular house and apartment rentals give you more space and a better feel while you’re traveling, and they save you money on restaurants since you’ll likely have your own kitchen. But one unwanted side effect of this company’s success is an increase in Airbnb scams. And figuring out how to identify a scammer is no easy task.
There is nothing fraudulent about Airbnb as a company, and renting from their website or app has not become more risky as it has become more popular. “The overwhelming majority of users will be satisfied with their results, but whenever there is a lot of money trading hands around the world—especially over long distances, when you can’t personally inspect the property and scrutinize every promise—it will attract the attention of scammers,” says Monica Eaton, founder and owner of fraud solutions company Chargebacks911. And money absolutely changes hands on Airbnb, by the fistful. “More than half a billion people have used Airbnb since its inception, and about 2 million more people will use it again tonight,” says Easton.
Online scams are generally on the rise, which is why it’s imperative to be diligent about online security. Educating yourself about things to know before renting on Airbnb and these Airbnb hosting secrets will help you have a better experience. Our advice here can also help.
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Can you get ripped off on Airbnb?
Absolutely. You can get scammed on Airbnb, just like almost anywhere else money changes hands. In 2022, Airbnb generated $1.9 billion in net revenue. With that kind of cash floating around, there are bound to be scammers, although the number of scams specific to Airbnb is not clear. Kevin Roundy, senior technical director of NortonLifeLock, a digital security company, reports that Airbnb scams were on the rise in the last quarter of 2022.
The good news is that both guests and hosts are protected by the company’s platform, so knowing how to recognize common Airbnb scams and their signs will help keep you safe. “The cardinal rule of the Internet should be, ‘If it’s too good to be true and costs you money, it’s probably a scam,'” says Eaton.
The details vary, but what happens with an Airbnb scam is similar to what we see in crypto scams, Facebook marketplace scams, and gift card scams. Below are six Airbnb scams to watch out for.
Common Airbnb Scams
Multiple offers scam
What it is: The host lists the same property at different price points so they can double book the property. Then they lease the property to the highest bidder.
How to avoid it: If you’re looking for an Airbnb, you can easily search through a few dozen listings to find the right one. Keep an eye out for properties that look the same or similar. If you see a property listed at multiple price points, stay away.
Fake listing scam
What it is: Scammers can create a fake listing with an address that doesn’t exist. Then, after you’ve laid out the cash and arrived with your bags, there’s nowhere to stay. Airbnb does its best to remove these listings, but persistent scammers will bypass Airbnb by constantly creating new accounts.
How to avoid it: Google is your friend when you’re rooting for this common Airbnb scam. Better to find out before you arrive in Phoenix that the address for your four-bedroom rental with a pool actually belongs to a pizzeria. “An Internet search of the address can help determine whether the property exists,” says Lisa Schiller, director of investigations and communications for the Better Business Bureau of Wisconsin.
Perfect images scam
What it is: Some people look for the nicest places to stay, while others look for the cheapest. Regardless of what you’re looking for, be realistic. Just like in catfish scams, don’t be lured by perfect images that may have been photoshopped or highly filtered. “The host can put up fake or doctored images that make the property look significantly nicer than it really is,” says Roundy. “Some of these photos may be of the actual property but have been highly edited, and other photos may be of a completely different property.”
How to avoid it: Take a minute to do a reverse Google image search to make sure photos of listings aren’t stock photos or stolen from somewhere else online, Roundy suggests. You can do this kind of search from either your smartphone or a computer.
“Too good to be true” scam
What it is: Exactly what it sounds like. Your expectations for one of the coolest and cheapest Airbnbs you’ve found won’t be met when you walk through the front door. “We all want to get a great price, but a property that is priced ridiculously low is often an indicator that something is not right,” says Eaton. “If you can find a beach house in Honolulu for $80 a day, you should probably dig a lot deeper before reaching for your credit card.”
How to avoid it: Do a little homework. While it may be tempting to fall for the “great deal,” there’s always the possibility that it might not be as great as you think it will be. Eaton says that Airbnb lists the average price for their properties by location, city and date, so if you find a property that deviates dramatically from the norm, raise an eyebrow.
If you’re still tempted to take a chance on it, Roundy suggests finding out if the host’s identity has been verified by Airbnb, which you can find on the host’s profile. You can also always ask for additional photos or a video introduction.
Bait and switch scam
What it is: This scam is when a property is advertised as a travel bargain, and then the price goes up when it’s time to pull out your wallet. With Airbnb, this typically happens just before you’re ready to arrive. “The host informs the guests that the rental they booked is no longer available, and instead they are offered a lower quality alternative rental,” explains Paul Bischoff, a privacy advocate at Comparitech. “In reality, the original lease may never have existed.”
How to avoid it: It’s hard to spot a liar, especially when we want to believe something is real. But reading reviews, looking for images and checking the address – the tips we’ve given for other scams – gives you a better chance of finding the Airbnb you think you’re getting.
Out of payment scam
What it is: This is when a host asks a guest to pay them directly through PayPal, bank transfers or even in cryptocurrency. You should absolutely never do this. It’s possible that these hosts are just trying to avoid Airbnb’s fees, but it could also be a scheme to prevent guests from reporting any fraud directly to Airbnb. “Their goal is to make it harder for you to find them and recover your money, because cash transactions are difficult to recover,” says Eaton. “Not following Airbnb’s payment rules plays right into the scammer’s hands.”
How to avoid it: Never interact with the host outside of the Airbnb platform, especially when it comes to paying for it, advises John Blesso, an Airbnb host in New York’s Hudson Valley. “The site is designed to protect both hosts and guests,” he says, “and it’s a red flag if someone wants to communicate or make a payment off the site.”
Signs of an Airbnb Scam
In addition to the Airbnb scams we walked you through above, here are other potential issues to keep in mind.
The list seems thin. Eaton warns that if a host’s profile is incomplete, that could be a warning sign. If you are their first guest, it could be another. Every honest property owner has had to start with his or her first guest at one point or another, but when there really isn’t that much to go on, it’s hard to know what you’re going to get. The host sends a message with a suspicious link. Cybersecurity experts unanimously agree that you should never click on any unknown link in any messages (not just on Airbnb). “One of the big scams involves sending out links to a fake website that mirrors the look and feel of the Airbnb site, but is actually fake,” says Eaton. The host is slow to respond to messages. When you book a place to stay, hosts must respond to your communications with them. One of the things that makes an Airbnb host a Superhost is if they get back to you quickly. If you feel like your host is ghosting you after you pay your deposit, they probably are. “But you can generally trust Superhosts,” says Eaton. This is a badge that hosts receive for consistently high user ratings (4.8 and above), 10 or more bookings each year and a quick response rate. “About 99% of the time, they don’t cancel reservations,” she says.
What to do if you have been scammed
It sucks to get ripped off, but if you paid with a credit card, be thankful. And if you’ve paid with a gift card or bank transfer, here’s why you should never do it again: “These payment methods are the same as sending cash—once you send it, you have no way to get it back ,” Schiller says.
That said, Airbnb has a resolution center that allows refund requests both before and after your trip. After arriving at a rental that’s less than you expected, you may decide to stay anyway if it’s peak travel time and finding alternative accommodations would be nearly impossible. Airbnb asks that you report the problem within 24 hours of determining a travel issue, and then the host has an hour to respond. “If you don’t hear back from the host within an hour — or if they refuse to help — you can ask Airbnb to intervene,” says Eaton. The company outlines the rules and regulations for rebookings and refunds on its website.
“Make sure you have all your evidence ready, including photos and/or video,” suggests Eaton. “Remember, it’s always better to take too many photos than not enough. Your smartphone is your friend!”
It’s one thing to find out that an amenity is less than promised or unavailable; it’s a much more serious issue if your financial data has been compromised as a result of an Airbnb scam. “Your bank should be alerted as soon as possible to protect you from future fraud and help you recover whatever was stolen,” says Eaton, reminding people that credit cards offer significantly more protection than debit cards. “With debit cards, you’re much more vulnerable to fraud loss, and if you don’t act quickly, you could potentially lose every last penny in your account,” says Eaton. “Credit cards have special federal protections that debit cards lack.”
Then find out what red flags to look out for to avoid staying at a bad hotel.
Additional reporting by Chloë Nannestad.
Sources:
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