Phishing attack via SMS after Airbnb booking

Airbnb is a popular platform for booking accommodation. A young student from Zurich also booked a room for a weekend in Paris in March. When she arrived at the Paris address, no one was there. Instead, she was asked by the supposed hostess to first transfer a deposit amount of 400 euros via an SMS link. The unsuspecting student complied with the request and was cheated out of around 2300 francs.

04.05.2022 – The victim, a young student, wanted to spend a weekend in Paris at the end of March. And so she booked a one-bedroom flat via the booking platform Airbnb. She has been an Airbnb member for a long time and has had good experiences with the platform so far.

Before leaving, the student contacted the supposed hostess. Unsuccessfully. Nevertheless, she travelled to Paris in company. After arriving at the address, everything took its course. She could not reach the hostess. After waiting for about two hours, she suddenly contacted her via text message and asked the student to pay a deposit of 400 euros using an attached link. The student clicked on the link and entered her personal card details. Then, the page could no longer be reached. The student suspected something bad and noticed after the weekend that around 2300 francs had already been charged to her credit card in smaller amounts.

It was quite a shock. Especially because she probably won’t get the money back. Her credit card issuer informed her that this loss was not insured. Among other things, she had also passed on her Apple Pay code when paying and had thus breached her duty of care. This means she also lost her right to compensation.

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How to protect yourself from card fraud on the internet:

• Set your card limits only as high as is necessary.
• Only buy from trusted online retailers. The “Trusted Shops” certificate helps you identify these.
• When receiving payment requests, always check the sender and the amount.
• Banks and card issuers will never ask you for your card details via email.
• Always check your card statements and report suspicious transactions straight away.
• Never pass on confirmation codes to third parties.
• Make sure you are on secure websites. You can recognise this by the abbreviation “https” in the web address.
• Report any claims to the police.