Australia’s consumer watchdog, the Australian Competition and
Consumer Commission (ACCC), has warned that scammers are targeting
vulnerable travellers by fraudulently claiming to be a Booking.com website.
Scams mentioning Booking.com rocketed last year, with total losses reaching more than A$337,000 (US$220,000), according to the watchdog.
The ACCC has advised Booking.com
users to independently verify any email with a link or attachment that
requests sign-in details, or personal or financial information.
The watchdog said genuine Booking.com staff would not request a consumer’s account password or financial information, such as a credit card, over the phone.
A Booking.com
spokesperson told The Guardian Australia accommodation partners had
been targeted by phishing emails aimed at hijacking the partner’s
computer system.
“In some cases, this has led to unauthorised access of their Booking.com
account, which enables these fraudsters to temporarily impersonate the
accommodation and communicate with guests via email or messages,” the
spokesperson said.
The number of accommodations impacted was “a small fraction of those on our platform,” the OTA said.
Travellers should use Booking.com’s app to access their accounts and set up two-factor authentication, the ACCC said.