An unsuspecting homeowner was in for a surprise when strangers knocked on her door, revealing that her property had been rented out without her consent for the Christmas period.
New Zealand woman Carla Beazley was further stunned to learn that the fake listing on Booking.com had cost an elderly woman almost $10,000.Â
The homeowner, Ms. Beazley, was the victim of a scam where fraudsters had copied photos and details of her Mt Maunganui property from a legitimate listing without her knowledge.
The woman wanted to rent a house near her own home so that visiting family members could stay close to her over Christmas.Â
Ms. Beazley had the difficult task of informing the surprised family that their booking was not authorized and that she was not involved in the fraudulent activity, as reported by the New Zealand Herald.
Though they had suffered a huge financial loss in the scam, the family was understanding, but Ms Beazley fears others being tricked may not take it so well.Â
‘This is a safety issue because we’ve just had someone turn up on our doorstep,’ she said.
Booking.com said in a statement it takes security issues very seriously and is investigating fake property listings.Â
Carla Beazley (pictured) was stunned to learn that a fake listing of her property on booking.com had cost an elderly woman almost $10,000
When the woman, who is the aunt of the family who showed up at Ms Beazley’s door, made what she thought was a legitimate booking, she was directed to make a private payment away from the Booking.com site.Â
While this may have raised alarm bells for some savvy internet users wary of potential scams, many people would take such instructions as just being part of the process.Â
It was the second time people who had been duped by the fake listing of the property had contacted Ms Beazley.Â
When she first learned of the scam on November 20, she called Booking.com to get get the fake listing taken down.
But she said despite spending hours on the phone to representatives of the property rental site, the scam listing was still online, leading to the family who lost $10,000.
A Booking.com spokesman said it takes ‘safety and security very seriously and have a number of measures in place to verify properties before they begin welcoming guests’.Â
These measures include ‘checks performed by our security, local partner services and customer service teams’.
The spokesman said that if a property is reported as suspicious, the listing is blocked from taking bookings while it is investigated.
Mark Gray also discovered a fake listing of his property (pictured) on booking.com
Booking.com eventually took action to remove the fake listing (pictured) of Mr Gray’s home
‘If non-compliance with our terms and conditions is found, the listing is removed,’ he said.
The ‘listing of fake properties by professional cyber criminals ​is a challenge for​ the trave​l sector’ and the company is investing heavily to tackle it, the spokesperson said.
‘We are sorry for the experiences these property owners brought to our attention and we have urgently addressed each of their individual concerns.’
Mark Gray, another New Zealand-based property owner, also discovered a fake listing of his home on Booking.com.
Mr Gray said he spent hours on the phone trying to get the fake listing taken down more than two months ago, without success, but it wasn’t finally removed until the New Zealand Herald contacted Booking.com about his situation.Â
It was only after that that a notice appeared at the top of the scam listing of his Martinborough property, reading: ‘We’re sorry this property isn’t taking reservations on our site right now.’
Ms Beazley and Mr Gray both claim Booking.com did not ask for enough proof that a person owns the house they’re listing, instead just asking them to tick a box saying they are the owner.
The scam listing of Ms Beazley’s property has now been removed, but she believes it was her own sleuthing, rather than booking.com that got it taken down.
She contacted a person though the email address on the fake listing of her home, pretending to be a potential renter.
She was asked to pay the money into a UK bank account, after which she asked for a copy of a passport photo page so she could verify she was talking to a real person.
Ms Beazley then used that person’s name and sent an email pretending she was a law enforcement officer, threatening to report the person to Interpol if they didn’t remove the listing.
‘It obviously scared them because it was gone the next morning,’ she said.
Daily Mail Australia contacted Ms Beazley and Booking.com for further comment. Â
