Damages top 82,000 euros as scammers use Booking.com to sell fake vacation rentals

The number of vacationers scammed while booking accommodations through Booking.com has risen sharply in recent months, and total damages have also increased significantly. This is according to new figures from Fraudehelpdesk, the Dutch fraud reporting center. Phishing reports linked to the site jumped to 957 in the first half of 2026 from 162 in the second half of 2025, while damages rose to more than 82,000 euros in the first half of this year from more than 75,000 euros last year.

The fraud takes various forms, but phishing stands out as a major problem on the platform, NOS reports. Fraudsters often hack a landlord’s account or post a fake advertisement. They copy photos and information from existing accommodations listed on other booking platforms. The scammers then contact people looking for vacation rentals and send a payment request through a fake website.

Hans Hooijer booked an apartment in Cape Town early this year. “The booking was confirmed, and I received a regular email via Booking.com. At that moment, there were no signs that something was wrong,” he told NOS.

The advertisement for the Cape Town apartment appeared on a comparison website. Booking.com has since removed it. The fraud became clear only while Hooijer was traveling to Cape Town. “I was called by someone who pretended to be the owner of the apartment, with the request to transfer 355 euros. After that, I would receive the access code for the front door,” he said. Under pressure from the caller, Hooijer paid the amount.

Upon arrival, the access code did not work. “I decided to contact the neighbor, and he told me that it was a scam. Earlier that week, three other victims had already been to the same apartment,” Hooijer said.

Booking.com said every accommodation “is checked for possible fraudulent activities, both during and after registration. In rare cases where a malicious party nevertheless succeeds in bypassing our security measures, we remove the accommodation immediately as soon as this is discovered or reported. We regret every situation in which a traveler and/or partner is affected by cybercrime and take this extremely seriously.”

Elisa discovered that one of her vacation homes in Portugal had been listed on Booking.com without her permission. She rents the property through the platforms Eliza was here and 30pluskids, as well as her own website. One day, a group of two families unexpectedly arrived at the accommodation. “But upon checking, it turned out there was no booking in the name of these guests,” she said.

The families had booked through Booking.com, even though Elisa had deliberately kept her home off that platform. “On Booking.com, there was exactly the same information and photos that I had placed on the other platforms, and there were also our personal details. Only the name of the accommodation was changed,” she said.

The situation escalated. “When we told them that they had been scammed, they didn’t believe us. They thought instead that we were trying to deceive them. We still had limited availability, but then they would have to pay. This strengthened the distrust, after which the guests became very angry and left,” Elisa explained to NOS. Overall, the group had been scammed out of about 2,400 euros.