As of: March 27, 2024, 9:24 a.m
By: Franziska Kaindl
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Fraudsters have been trying to trick holidaymakers with deceptively genuine emails from the booking portal Booking.com for months.
There is no end to the scam in sight.
How to protect yourself.
Fraudsters are always coming up with new scams to trick consumers out of their money.
Fake emails from actually reputable companies that ask their recipients to provide personal information are popular.
It is not always clear to the recipient whether it is actually a real request - and fraudsters are getting better and better at making the emails deceptively genuine.
Booking.com: Fraudsters send fake emails and know a surprising amount about travel booking
The Lower Saxony Consumer Center warned in May 2023 of a scam in which fraudsters take advantage of travel bookings via the online booking portal Booking.com.
A case is reported in which a consumer from Lower Saxony was affected.
Booking.com customers are currently being targeted by fraudsters via WhatsApp or email.
© Panthermedia/Imago
This is how it is said to have happened: The woman booked a trip via Booking.com and shortly afterwards received a message via the messenger service Whatsapp.
In it, a person claiming to be a hotel employee asked her questions about her booking and sent her links.
The consumer ignored the messages but received an email before the start of her vacation.
There were problems with her chosen payment method, which is why she would have to re-enter her details within 24 hours - otherwise the booking would be canceled.
However, when the consumer asked the hotel directly, she learned that everything was fine with the booking and that it was probably an attempted fraud.
The frightening thing about it: The email redirected you to a Booking.com website that was almost indistinguishable from the real one.
On top of that, the fraudsters apparently not only have the personal data of the bookers, but also know exactly for what period of time they have booked which hotel, says the legal expert at the Lower Saxony Consumer Center, Kathrin Bartsch, according to a press release: “Of course it does All the more difficult to even recognize an attempted fraud.”
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There doesn't seem to be a quick end to the scam in sight.
Spiegel.de
last reported
on it in March 2024.
The
Watson
portal also writes about similar incidents about which it has information.
The emails, which supposedly come from Booking.com, say in English: “We regret to inform you that your booking may be canceled as your card has not been automatically verified.” Which means something like: “We are sorry "To inform you that your booking may be canceled because your credit card could not be verified."
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How criminals get their hands on booking data from Booking.com
When contacted by Booking.com, a spokeswoman confirmed, according to
Watson
, that such scams had occurred: “Some of our accommodation partners have unfortunately been tricked into clicking on links in phishing emails or attachments outside of them using very convincing and sophisticated phishing tactics our system, thereby loading malware onto their computers.
In some cases, this resulted in unauthorized access to their Booking.com account.” The fraudsters would impersonate the accommodation partners in order to demand payments from customers.
However, “neither the backend systems nor the infrastructure of Booking.com” are affected, it is said.
Instead, the hotel where customers booked was hacked.
According to Bartsch from the Lower Saxony consumer advice center, it can also be assumed that the criminals get access to Booking.com customers' information through a hacker attack or security gaps in the property's management tools.
She therefore advises caution, even if the senders appear trustworthy.
Consumers should take a close look at the email address and avoid clicking on any links.
However, you should be particularly skeptical if you are asked for account or credit card details.
How do I recognize fake emails?
In general, there are a few clues you can use to recognize phishing emails.
According to the umbrella organization of the Federal Association of Consumer Organizations, caution is advised if one or more of the following points apply:
Spelling and grammatical errors in the email
missing salutation
Request to provide personal information
Calls to action by a specific deadline
Prompts to open specific files or click on links
dubious senders (check the IP address in the email header - it is forgery-proof)
You can also use the mouseover trick to identify dangerous emails, informs
Ruhr24.de
.
To do this, move the mouse – without clicking – over the link.
What to do if data has been accessed?
Sometimes it is not possible to tell at first glance whether and which data has been hacked by fraudsters.
It is therefore important to regularly check your account for unusual debits, as Bartsch advises.
This is when irregularities become apparent and should be reported to the bank or credit provider immediately.
In the case of a credit card, it should be blocked.
Victims of data theft should also report it to the police.
By the way: If you are unsure whether and which personal data has been stolen, you can now use a free tool from Schufa.