Fraud at booking.com: ignore this annoying email in your inbox

Anyone planning their holiday will soon end up at booking.com. The travel platform offers a wide choice of accommodations for every destination in the world and has also established a rating system that many travelers rely on. Moreover, anyone who books with booking.com usually has no problems because the system works reliably.

But that’s not always the case, as evidenced by the emails currently reaching customers.

The message is written in English, which at first glance is not surprising when booking a hotel abroad: “We regret to inform you that your booking may be canceled because your card has not been automatically verified.” Translated it means: “We may need to cancel your booking because your credit card cannot be verified.”

Anyone who wants to go on holiday soon will get nervous when they receive an email like this. Certainly, people are more careful these days because they know how many scammers there are online. But this message is different. She’s better.

Booking.com: Message ends up in the official mailbox

Because all the facts mentioned are true – and it will (also) reach you in the official mailbox of booking.com.

The following information is correct:

A similar message also reached a colleague of Watson. It contained a link to a so-called booking.com page where you could have saved your credit card. And then the money would be gone.

Booking.com explains how the scam works

Watson asked booking.com. A spokesperson confirmed the issue: “Unfortunately, some of our accommodation partners have been tricked into clicking links in phishing emails or downloading attachments outside of our system using highly persuasive and sophisticated phishing tactics, causing malware to be loaded onto their computers . In some cases, this resulted in unauthorized access to their Booking.com account.»

The company further explains: «The scammers then try to pose as accommodation partners to demand payment from customerswhich is not provided for in the booking confirmation.»

Concretely this means: In such cases, the hotel you want to stay in has been hacked. This means that fraudsters can send you official messages via booking.com.

Booking.com explains that “neither the backend systems nor Booking.com infrastructure were affected” and explains to Watson: “Given the millions of bookings (…) such incidents are extremely rare. At the same time, we are aware of the seriousness of the subject (…). That’s why our teams are working tirelessly to help our accommodation partners secure their systems as quickly as possible.”

Important: Even if an email shows that you need to take urgent action, if in doubt, don’t do it. It is useful to contact the hotel via email (and not via booking.com) and ask if the message really came from the property. And those responsible at booking.com emphasize: “Our customer service team is available 24 hours a day.”