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Police expect more complaints during Easter Week.
Police urge caution among Airbnb users as new scam claims victims

Police urge caution among Airbnb users as new scam claims victims

The scammers use the name of the company in fake email addresses and encourage users to send money by bank transfer

JUAN CANO

Friday, 31 March 2017, 09:03

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National Police in Malaga are fearing a wave of complaints during Easter Week after a new scam has claimed victims through accommodation rental site Airbnb.

"In essence this isn't a new scam," said Malaga's National Police head of Cyber Crimes. "The difference is now they are using Airbnb."

The scammers add listings of attractive properties at competitive prices, claim for one reason or another that they can't show the property, then direct 'clients' to send a deposit via bank transfer through fraudulent emails from addresses bearing the company's name (such as airbnb@grupo-europa.com or airbnb@rents-confirm.com). A 'mule' then withdraws the money from these accounts, before sending it on via Western Union or MoneyGram after taking a commission of around 10 per cent.

"These email addresses are servers that allow them to be eliminated without leaving a trace," said the officer responsible for investigating these crimes, though the criminals are believed to be located in Eastern Europe and Africa.

"Anyone who knows how Airbnb works knows that they never ask for bank transfers," he continued, urging users to keep all transactions and communication within the platform so they can be monitored and are protected.

If you suspect an ad may be too good to be true, the police suggest running the images through Google to see if they have been posted elsewhere online.

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