I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
1–10 of 632 posts
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#2I'll ask the dumb question (I don't use AirBnB): why not dispute the charge via a credit card?
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#3I'll ask the dumb question (I don't use AirBnB): why not dispute the charge via a credit card?
Presumably AirBnB would ban the user and the user still wants to be able to use the service in the future.
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#4I'll ask the dumb question (I don't use AirBnB): why not dispute the charge via a credit card?
Presumably AirBnB would ban the user and the user still wants to be able to use the service in the future.
I'm somewhat surprised that this would be permitted by the card issuer.
Aside from that... why aren't Airbnb detecting when multiple properties have very similar photos and investigating this themselves? (Of course they may be, and these examples are cases where they didn't pull the fraudulent listing).
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#5Why don't companies like AirBNB who have a lot to lose (reputation wise) from a (small?) number of scammers sue those scammers into oblivion? Not only are they violating the TOS but they are committing fraud, and likely breaking a few other laws.
AirBNB must know who they are as those scammers are getting paid, right? It would be expensive for AirBNB (they would certainly lose money) but it can't cost more than the revenue they lose when people read articles like this?
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#6Why didn't the journalist contact Airbnb in the first place? Or after he arrived at the 2nd place and it wasn't the location listed/promised. (yes I can understand being tired, frustrated, etc)
Last minute host cancellation is the one thing they can actually something they help with since it ruins the marketplace for them.
As a host I've had my set of horror storied interacting with Airbnb. Most hosts do try really hard, but every marketplace has scams at some level, and I'm not sure how you could find them all once it's under some value/size.
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#7Earlier quoted context omitted.
Presumably AirBnB would ban the user and the user still wants to be able to use the service in the future.
I'm somewhat surprised that this would be permitted by the card issuer. Aside from that... why aren't Airbnb detecting when multiple properties have very similar photos and investigating this themselves? (Of course they may be, and these examples are cases where they didn't pull the fraudulent listing).
It's largely the card issues fault. They charge a fee for each chargeback and punish or increase the fees for merchants who receive many chargebacks, so merchants try to avoid chargebacks, which includes banning everybody who uses them.
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#8Why don't companies like AirBNB who have a lot to lose (reputation wise) from a (small?) number of scammers sue those scammers into oblivion? Not only are they violating the TOS but they are committing fraud, and likely breaking a few other laws. AirBNB must know who they are as those scammers are getting paid, right? It would be expensive for AirBNB (they would certainly lose money) but it can't cost more than the r…
AirBNB was built on spamming Craigslist and willful ignorance of local zoning and tenant laws. It is in their DNA to allow operations like this...like WeWork, just trying to make it to the IPO cash-out.
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#9Well, this certainly makes me want to never book an AirBnB again. You'd think AirBnB would be more alarmed about the reputational and consequent business hit of this sort of thing. Maybe they will be after this article?
Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb
#10Earlier quoted context omitted.
I'm somewhat surprised that this would be permitted by the card issuer. Aside from that... why aren't Airbnb detecting when multiple properties have very similar photos and investigating this themselves? (Of course they may be, and these examples are cases where they didn't pull the fraudulent listing).
It's largely the card issues fault. They charge a fee for each chargeback and punish or increase the fees for merchants who receive many chargebacks, so merchants try to avoid chargebacks, which includes banning everybody who uses them.
How on earth is that the card issuer's fault?
The chargeback is for the exact fraudulent type of activity described in the article, and the business who allows it should be punished.
Heck, that is the primary reason I use my credit card, for this type of protection.