Post by High Priestess on Jun 17, 2017 14:51:27 GMT
Airbnb, struggling to deal with thousands of scams on its site, has acquired the startup "Trooly" to try to deal with this.
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-16/airbnb-to-buy-background-check-startup-trooly-to-root-out-scams
Interestingly, the issues it is concerned about and wants to resolve in this manner, are not only criminal arrangements where criminals set up fake listings to lure unsuspecting guests to pay them via wire transfer, but also situations where guest and host agree to pay offsite.
I can see going full out to try to put an end to criminals putting up fake listings, but I'm concerned about Airbnb potentially monitoring its site users social media accounts. That sounds a bit Big Brotherish to me. Also sounds like a good reason not to use social media!!
www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-06-16/airbnb-to-buy-background-check-startup-trooly-to-root-out-scams
Interestingly, the issues it is concerned about and wants to resolve in this manner, are not only criminal arrangements where criminals set up fake listings to lure unsuspecting guests to pay them via wire transfer, but also situations where guest and host agree to pay offsite.
Los Altos, California-based Trooly has been helping Airbnb authenticate user identities since 2015. By analyzing data from public records, social media and other sources, Trooly’s technology could help Airbnb track various customer violations, such as side deals between guests and hosts.....
Since starting in 2008, Airbnb has struggled to control fraudulent listings from people posing as property owners. Some Airbnb guests have also been found to sidestep the company by finding an attractive listing on Airbnb’s website, then contacting the hosts -- usually via social media -- and offering to pay them directly. Airbnb takes as much as a 12 percent fee from its guests. Hosts are charged a 3 percent fee on listings that are booked. In most cases, the company is also required to charge guests a local tax, usually 3 percent, though the tax rates vary by city, state and country.
Since starting in 2008, Airbnb has struggled to control fraudulent listings from people posing as property owners. Some Airbnb guests have also been found to sidestep the company by finding an attractive listing on Airbnb’s website, then contacting the hosts -- usually via social media -- and offering to pay them directly. Airbnb takes as much as a 12 percent fee from its guests. Hosts are charged a 3 percent fee on listings that are booked. In most cases, the company is also required to charge guests a local tax, usually 3 percent, though the tax rates vary by city, state and country.
I can see going full out to try to put an end to criminals putting up fake listings, but I'm concerned about Airbnb potentially monitoring its site users social media accounts. That sounds a bit Big Brotherish to me. Also sounds like a good reason not to use social media!!