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Travellers who have booked accommodation through Booking.com are being urged to exercise extra caution when receiving emails related to their reservations, as consumer advocates warn of a sophisticated scam targeting customers.
Austria’s Chamber of Labour (Arbeiterkammer, AK) has issued a warning about fraudulent messages that appear to come from legitimate accommodation providers listed on Booking.com. The emails are designed to trick travellers into revealing sensitive information or making payments to criminals.
According to the AK, the scam messages may contain accurate personal details and travel information, making them appear authentic. Consumer advocates say the criminals have obtained customer data, allowing them to create highly convincing communications.
The fraudulent emails typically ask recipients to confirm booking details, verify credit card information, or make an advance payment. Victims are often told they must act within a short deadline or risk having their reservation cancelled.
“The traps for consumers are becoming increasingly professional and harder to recognise,” said AK consumer protection expert Gerda Heilegger.
The scammers reportedly impersonate the accommodation that the traveller has actually booked and direct victims via links to websites that can closely resemble legitimate booking or payment portals.
Heilegger warned that the combination of a short response deadline and the threat of cancellation shortly before a trip places significant pressure on consumers, increasing the likelihood that they will comply with the fraudulent requests.
The Chamber of Labour’s key advice is clear: travellers should never enter personal data or payment information through links contained in such emails.
The organisation also cautioned that simply clicking on an external link may expose smartphones or computers to malware. The financial consequences can be even greater if victims transfer money through a fraudulent payment link, as recovering the funds afterwards is often difficult.
In some reported cases, victims paid more than once. The AK said consumers were led to believe that an initial payment had failed, prompting them to repeat the transaction.
As a result, some individuals unknowingly transferred several times the amount they had originally intended to pay, with the money ending up in the hands of scammers.
Consumer advocates recommend verifying any payment requests directly through the official Booking.com platform or by contacting the accommodation provider through trusted channels rather than responding to email links.#
- source: APA/picture: canva.com
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