A homeowner was shocked to realize her property had been rented out for Christmas without her knowledge after strangers knocked on her door.
New Zealander Carla Beazley was further stunned to learn that the false listing on Booking.com had cost an elderly woman almost $10,000.
The elderly woman was duped after scammers copied Ms Beazley’s photos and details of her Mt Maunganui property from a genuine advertisement without her knowledge.
The woman wanted to rent a house near her own home so that visiting relatives could stay close to her over Christmas.
Mrs Beazley had to tell shocked relatives that their booking was not legitimate and that she was not part of the rip-off. New Zealand herald reported.
Although they suffered a huge financial loss from the scam, the family were understanding, but Ms Beazley fears others who are duped may not take it so well.
“This is a safety issue because someone just showed up on our doorstep,” she said.
Booking.com said in a statement that it takes security issues very seriously and investigates false property listings.
Carla Beazley (pictured) was stunned to learn that a false listing of her accommodation on booking.com had cost an elderly woman almost $10,000
When the woman, the aunt of the family who arrived at Ms Beazley’s home, made what she thought was a legitimate booking, she was instructed to make a private payment outside the Booking.com site.
While this may have raised alarm bells among some savvy internet users who are wary of potential scams, many people consider such instructions to be just part of the process.
It was the second time people who had been duped by the false listing of the property had contacted Ms Beazley.
When she first heard of the scam on November 20, she called Booking.com to have the fake listing removed.
But she said that despite spending hours on the phone with representatives from the property rental site, the scam list was still online, causing the family to lose $10,000.
A spokesperson for Booking.com said it “takes safety and security very seriously and has taken a number of steps to verify properties before they begin welcoming guests.”
These measures include ‘checks carried out by our security, local partner services and customer service teams’.
The spokesperson said if a property is reported as suspicious, the property will no longer be able to take bookings while the investigation is underway.
Mark Gray also discovered a false listing of his accommodation (pictured) on booking.com
Booking.com eventually took action to remove the false listing (photo) of Mr Gray’s home
“If non-compliance with our terms and conditions is found, the listing will be removed,” he said.
The “listing of counterfeit properties by professional cybercriminals is a challenge for the travel industry” and the company is investing heavily to address this, the spokesperson said.
“We are sorry for the experiences these property owners have brought to our attention and have urgently addressed each of their individual concerns.”
Mark Gray, another property owner from New Zealand, also discovered a false listing of his home on Booking.com.
Mr Gray said he spent hours on the phone trying to remove the false listing more than two months ago, without success. But it was only permanently removed when the New Zealand Herald contacted Booking.com about his situation.
Only then did a message appear at the top of his Martinborough property’s scam list, reading: ‘We’re sorry this property is not currently accepting bookings on our site.’
Ms Beazley and Mr Gray both claim that Booking.com did not ask for sufficient proof that someone owns the home they are listing, but only asked them to tick a box saying they own it.
Ms Beazley’s property scam listing has now been removed, but she believes it was her own detective work and not booking.com that caused the advert to be removed.
She contacted a person using the email address on the false listing of her home, posing as a potential renter.
She was asked to deposit the money into a British bank account, after which she asked for a copy of a passport photo page so she could verify she was speaking to a real person.
Ms Beazley then used that person’s name and sent an email posing as a law enforcement officer, threatening to report the person to Interpol if they did not remove the listing.
“It was obvious they were scared because the next morning it was gone,” she said.
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Ms Beazley and Booking.com for further comment.