Tourists discomfited by high hotel prices, or sometimes driven by the need to experience the comforts of home while on holiday have often turned to booking sites such as Airbnb to secure accommodations. Those needing longer-stay accommodations also use them. But an increasing number of frauds being reported around the world suggest there is need for caution. Typically, websites such as Airbnb put together an inventory of shortterm rentals available at a destination and make them available to travellers. The available amenities are advertised as are details of the host, the owner or manager, of the property. Travellers sometimes are guided by reviews of those who have used the facility earlier to make up their mind.
While there have been many happy experiences reported by travellers, several cases of fraud have been reported. The trial this week of a former sales executive with a realty firm in Singapore has shown just how easy it is to dupe travellers. The arrested man had obtained photographs of several apartments that he posted on Airbnb, and which he offered to travellers. He even sent contracts to those who expressed interest in short-term rentals and then asked them to wire funds to his account. In all, he cheated 62 people from 12 countries including France, Germany, the United States and South Africa and amassed a sum of Singapore $383,000 (nearly Rs 2.4 crore) before the law caught up with him. This week, he pleaded guilty to 23 charges of cheating, with a further 39 charges taken into consideration, and faces a prison term of up to 10 years or a fine, or both, on each charge. But this is not the first incident involving Airbnb rentals.
Five years ago, a Singaporean who had enrolled at a culinary school in Paris, was cheated of more than 32,000 euros (Rs 29 lakh) by a French fraudster, which led to authorities seeking better security measures from Airbnb. In 2019, Airbnb had committed to a verification of all seven million of its listings worldwide after a deadly shooting at a California home listed on the website. But the serial frauds committed in Singapore in 2022 using the platform suggest that the verifications were, at best, perfunctory. But fictitious properties are not the only ways Airbnb is used to scam travellers. Multiple listings at different price points and last minute cancellations are the most common. Use of fake photographs and posting of fake reviews are also common. But nearly a quarter of the scams involve collection of money by the fraudster, either by hacking a traveller’s account, by inducing her or him to pay for a facility that does not exist. Better regulation by police forces in host nations is clearly called for.