A sophisticated wave of scams involving reservations on Booking.com is raising concern among travelers worldwide, as fraudsters increasingly use artificial intelligence to create fake properties, realistic-looking websites and deceptive payment requests.

The scams are designed to convince customers to transfer money for accommodations that do not exist or to surrender their credit card information through fraudulent links.

In one common scheme, a traveler receives a message shortly after making a legitimate reservation. The message appears to come directly from the hotel or property and claims that payment must be completed or credit card details must be updated through an external link.

In some cases, the link directs the customer to a website that looks nearly identical to Booking.com’s official site but is actually a fraudulent page created to steal personal and financial information.

One traveler, identified as Shira, said she received what appeared to be an official message after reserving an apartment through Booking.com. She was instructed to complete payment through a website designed to closely resemble the genuine platform.

Further investigation revealed that the website was fraudulent and had reportedly been created using artificial intelligence. The apartment itself did not exist, and the images in the listing had also been generated using AI to make the fake property appear authentic.

Artificial intelligence now allows scammers to produce convincing property photographs, advertisements and imitation websites with greater speed and accuracy, making fraudulent listings increasingly difficult to detect.

Other scams involve real apartments advertised with manipulated photographs, false addresses or listings posted without the actual owner’s knowledge. Warning signs can include a lack of reviews, very few previous reservations or a price significantly lower than comparable properties in the area.

Travelers are advised to carefully examine reviews, including negative feedback, compare listing photographs with other online sources and verify the address through services such as Google Maps before submitting payment.

Fraudsters have also been known to gain access to the Booking.com accounts of hotels or property managers. They then use the compromised accounts to send guests urgent messages claiming there is a payment problem and directing them to enter their credit card information through an outside link.

Travelers should treat any request to reenter payment information through a link sent by chat, WhatsApp or email as a major warning sign.

Anyone who receives a suspicious message should contact the property directly using the telephone number listed on its official website, rather than relying on contact information contained in the message. The incident should also be reported to Booking.com customer service.

If credit card details were entered on an external website, the card issuer should be contacted immediately to block the card and monitor for unauthorized charges.

The three most common scams involve phishing messages impersonating hotels, requests to submit payment outside Booking.com through bank transfers or payment applications, and fake property listings created with stolen or AI-generated images.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)