Holidaymakers are being warned about a Booking.com scam that has already cost victims a total of £370,000.
Fraudsters are reportedly hacking into hotel accounts on the platform and sending fake, but convincing, messages and emails to unsuspecting customers.
This often happens when hotel staff accidentally click on a malicious link in an email, giving criminals access to the hotel’s account on the platform.
Once inside, scammers send messages to customers claiming payment details need to be verified or that a card has been declined.
They then trick holidaymakers into entering their banking details via fraudulent links.
Action Fraud has received over 500 reports of the scam between June 2023 and September 2024, with victims collectively losing £370,000 - or £700 per person.
Customers have shared their close calls with the scam on X (formerly Twitter).
One showed a message directly through their Booking.com app which read: "Dear [XXX], we need you confirmation.
"Your reservation and the details you entered are still pending. If you don’t verify and complete everything within the next six hours, your booking will be automatically cancelled - no exceptions."
The customer is then directed to click on a rogue link in the message chain to "confirm and finalize" their trip - even though it’s already paid for.
Consumer rights expert Martyn James said: "If you get a message from a hotel or host through Booking.com or an email asking for your card details, ignore it.
"Only go through your Booking.com portal on the website to confirm payment details.
"Do not send money via links and never pay with bank transfers or PayPal’s ’friends and family’ option."
Booking.com said its security hasn’t been hacked, but scammers may have accessed the IT systems of some hotels listed on its site.
A spokesperson added: "Unfortunately, there is an increasing number of online scams targeting many businesses operating in the e-commerce space.
"With the rise of AI, cybercriminals are able to create increasingly sophisticated scams."
If you get a message on Booking.com asking for payment, contact your hotel, airline, or service provider directly to make sure it’s real.
Meanwhile, another scam targeting holidaymakers uses fake Booking.com websites to trick people into downloading harmful files that give criminals control of their devices.
HP Wolf Security says scammers send emails with links to these fake sites.
When visitors click "accept" on the cookie pop-up, the malicious file is downloaded.
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