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Post by High Priestess on Jun 10, 2016 13:57:28 GMT
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Post by maria on Jun 10, 2016 14:37:08 GMT
OMG, they even set up CHAT. Crafty. Again I see people giving advice (not Clare) when they do not know what they are talking about. Imagine if Justin listened and agreed to the other opinion(s).
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Post by High Priestess on Jun 10, 2016 14:47:04 GMT
YEs....and yet ironically the one you see there giving potentially misleading advice (Paul) is actually a VERY experienced host, someone who is HUGE in the host community, the organizer of the Melbourne's Finest Hosts group. (He's actually also a member of this GHF forum ---) I met him at the first Airbnb Open in SF and saw him again at a training for host organizers in SF, we were in class together. He's an important host community organizer in Australia. I'm not sure why with all his experience he doesn't see the scam here -- maybe he hasn't studied scams on Airbnb that much. And truth be told, scammers are very ingenious. That's what makes scams successful -- is trying to ensure that they don't look like scams. In any case Clare is the best one for helping hosts and guests see into scams.
yes the scammers have been setting up a "chat" function for some time now. It's strange that they do this, since Airbnb does not offer a chat function. However, many Airbnb users seem not to know that!
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Post by Mabel on Jun 22, 2016 17:37:53 GMT
Just a heads up. This is unrelated to the particular thread but wanted to send out an alert about a latest scam. Unverified person just sent a message saying an ad with my photos and listing appears on another site for a cheaper price, and then provides a link to a log-in page (to show you the evidence) with very similar graphics to Airbnb's log-in page but not exactly the same. So that should warn you enough to not log into it, but for those who are not as cautious, it would be an easy misstep to take.
Here is the message:
" Hi,
I am interested to book your property for 5 nights. I saw an flat with same pictures and description listed by another host with an lowest price.
Here is the 2nd place, please verify:
airbnb-rooms-hostid-502371.airhost.global
Regards, "
I checked the link, did not log in, reported the profile, then called customer service who "escalated" removing the profile.
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Post by lambada on Jun 22, 2016 19:37:52 GMT
Here is the 2nd place, please verify: airbnb-rooms-hostid-502371.airhost.global Oh wow, Grace, that is really scary. I checked out the site, it looks EXACTLY like Airbnb page! And when I pretended to search in SF, it took me to my Airbnb page. Honestly, as careful as I am, I'd have fallen for this one. So thanks for posting this! |
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Post by High Priestess on Jun 22, 2016 20:07:54 GMT
Thanks Grace! Yes, this actually has been a scam that has been going on for some time now. I think for at least a year, we have been seeing posts in the host community about this scam. (I believe I have some posts about this scam here on this forum) Hosts and guests just don't realize, that scammers will be creating fake websites that look exactly like the Airbnb website...and of course, some hosts don't realize quickly enough that by telling you someone is copying your listing, that sets up such alarm bells, that hosts are more likely to fall for something (phishing scam) and log into a fake Airbnb page....because of the alarm they feel.
So you really have to think it through, every time you get a non-standard inquiry that has a link in it, asking yourself about how it could be a scam, and you need to know how phishing scams work. Which is that they always take you to a fake Airbnb page and try to get you to log in. So if you are already logged in on the site, of course you shouldn't have to log in again. ANd you can also get the hint by looking at the URL Of the fake site....it won't be www.airbnb.com, with the https:// and the padlock icon. It'll be something else.
What I don't understand is why the links are going thru the Airbnb messaging system. I would think they would get censored out.
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Post by Mabel on Jun 22, 2016 20:55:11 GMT
Lambada, the scam log in page looks very similar to the legit airbnb log in page but not exactly. I did a side by side comparison, and there are differences like using different words for the google or facebook log in options. Debora good point about if you're already logged in then no airbnb site will ask you to log in again. I guess this is a point of confusion due to the fact that when I do searches in the Incognito browser, i always get the prompt to log in even though i'm logged in from another browser. So if i'm used to seeing that, it can confuse me a little bit about any redirects asking me to log in again. I figured this was not a new scam and has been going on for a while but I thought I would refresh the convo for new people since I just got my first one. As for not knowing why Airbnb doesn't censor the scam inquiries out from the message thread it's probably because the dork-in-training who was put in charge of that feature ended up mistakenly developing the feature that wouldn't permit you to give your phone number to a confirmed guest.  |
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