I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb • Hacker News Board

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#591

Post by munificent » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 5:30 PM UTC

lixtra wrote: post #416

munificent wrote: post #269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There's a weird fundamental flaw in social groups which is this: 1. Trusting trustworthy people increases efficiency. The less checking and verification you have to do, the less redundant work there is and the more easily things go. 2. As the number of trustworthy people in a group increases, the value of choosing to trust a random person increases. The odds get greater that they will be trustworthy, letting you reap…

You can drive the number closer to 100% by making sure to have strong revenge on malice and a high probability that the revenge hits the right person. In practice that means trust people once you have confirmed identity and if you’re in a trustworthy legislation.

> a high probability that the revenge hits the right person.

This is also fundamentally hard, though. As the ratio of trustworthy people increases, the odds of false positives necessarily increase too.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#592

Post by mullingitover » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 5:34 PM UTC

DenisM wrote: post #508

mullingitover wrote: post #437

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A person close to me had a driver fail to end the ride, and drove around several miles racking up charges. When she noticed this and complained to Uber, they rejected her claim. When she disputed Uber's fraudulent charge on her credit card, they blacklisted her account.

Did she just create a new account?

Nope, she just doesn't use Uber anymore.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#593

Post by hfbjh » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 6:27 PM UTC

SiVal wrote: post #475

yason wrote: post #335

The late cancellation by host without no specific penalties seems to be one of the most prevalent yet disturbing elements in this. The one who's travelling has the weakest odds of all. The traveler will be in a foreign place with no place to stay. In contrast, the host has no losing cards except some income. The rules should, thus, have been written to protect the traveler at the expense of the host because the host…

The one who's travelling has the weakest odds of all. The traveler will be in a foreign place with no place to stay. In contrast, the host has no losing cards except some income. No, the one being scammed has the weakest odds. The "traveler" could in fact be a local scammer who sabotages a property and then has various ways (which I won't detail) for turning a profit on it if the rules favor the "poor traveler". I'm…

>No, the one being scammed has the weakest odds. The "traveler" could in fact be a local scammer who sabotages a property and then has various ways (which I won't detail) for turning a profit

Respectfully, I don't see these ways. Could you please at least a bit elaborate? Changes request always go through the host approval process. Are you talking about intentionally damaging the property?

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#594

Post by nowandonly » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 7:01 PM UTC

bluedevil2k wrote: post #121

I've run into a scam recently on AirBNB and several situations that ended up screwing me over. The scam was after booking a nice place in Orlando, Florida for a week through my wife's AirBNB account. The day after booking, the "owner" sent an email saying that they required a photograph of the front and back of her credit card, drivers license picture and full name. Not even a subtle scam, but that would probably foo…

Hi! Could you send over that listing? We believe it's connected to the scam mentioned in the article. I would appreciate any information you have on hand.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#595

Post by nowandonly » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 7:24 PM UTC

ejain wrote: post #331

Just talked to someone at Airbnb. Two takeaways: 1. If the property does not match the description, take pictures (they won't just take your word for it). 2. If you are told that the original property is not available, contact Airbnb right away, and they will give you a full refund and help you find a place to stay (Airbnb or otherwise). Fortunately, I've never had to put any of this to the test...

https://www.linkedin.com/company/abbot-pacific/people/

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#596

Post by vraivroo » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 7:54 PM UTC

labawi wrote: post #564

xmprt wrote: post #554

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That only happens if the driver arrives at your location and waits. You can't just expect to call an Uber and have them wait forever. Regardless of what you think of uber, it's just common courtesy to be ready when it arrives.

So, is this after driver accepting but cancelling before arriving, or after arriving and a rider no-show.

rider no-show

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#597

Post by hispanic » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 8:23 PM UTC

At this point, I've probably booked four dozen Airbnb stays over the past 7 years or so. Given that, I'd say two of the simplest steps you can take to limit your chances of booking really bad Airbnbs are to 1.) limit your bookings to those places where the host only has one listing and 2.) limit your bookings to owner-occupied places. It seems like the worst elements of Airbnb are largely eliminated when staying with the host, rather than insisting on having the entire place to yourself.

I've written-up other advice regarding Airbnb bookings here - https://blog.michaelscepaniak.com/how-to-find-choose-and-boo...

With that being said, scams happen and there's no simple, full-proof way of completely insulating yourself from them.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#598

Post by tasssko » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 8:58 PM UTC

brianbreslin wrote: post #498

tasssko wrote: post #363

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I wouldn’t want anyone picking a hotel for me. I might appreciate if the host calls a few hotels to see which ones have space but I want the final say. My perspective has been that “when I use Airbnb I always have a plan b”. I do. I don’t negotiate, if the listing has issues or was miss-sold I walk out and activate my plan b. Airbnb will always refund if you do it like that.

I got burned on miss-sold/labeled AirBnBs a few years ago and they did nothing to make it up to me so I RARELY book with them anymore. Honestly with rewards points and such with hotel booking sites, and airbnb prices not being that much cheaper than a hotel, it often is just less hassle to go traditional hotel.

Agree but as some folks have pointed out Airbnb has more locations and can take you off the beaten track. Which is nice if you have children a dog and want some place quiet. There are always alternatives. Your point resonates with me because in London i have never found a Airbnb that comes close to hotel convenience. I enjoy the proximity of hotels in central London. So yes with Expedia I’m getting 10% off on a short stay and all things considered it’s pretty much less hassle and cheaper plus the standard of many hotels in London is good.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#599

Post by yason » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 9:50 PM UTC

saghm wrote: post #381

yason wrote: post #335

The late cancellation by host without no specific penalties seems to be one of the most prevalent yet disturbing elements in this. The one who's travelling has the weakest odds of all. The traveler will be in a foreign place with no place to stay. In contrast, the host has no losing cards except some income. The rules should, thus, have been written to protect the traveler at the expense of the host because the host…

> If the host really needs to cancel they should have to put the traveler in a real hotel as an upgrade to remove all doubt of the traveler getting into a place that could be worse. They have already received the money from the traveler so they only need to pay for the difference. New scam: post a listing for a very high-end place you don't own, cancel the booking once you've been paid and book the client a cheap hot…

Doesn't sound like an "upgrade" to me, and indeed I wasn't thinking of a downgrade to a cheap motel. There are obviously several schemes/incentives that can be set up to make sure the traveler will get "similar or better". For example, if the traveler doesn't agree with the suggested alternative accommodation the host will pay back the original sum + X which will amount to a stay in a decent business-grade hotel in the area, or something similar. Some schemes will probably leak one way or another but they should all favour the traveler and make the host responsible since the cancellation did originate at host end after all.

Re: I Accidentally Uncovered a Nationwide Scam on Airbnb

#600

Post by afjl » Fri, Nov 01, 2019, 10:50 PM UTC

01010001 wrote: post #388

afjl wrote: post #283

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is actually the first time I've heard of HomeAway, thanks. The only short term rental company I've ever used or heard of was Airbnb. I'll probably be shopping around the next time I travel.

How ironic to be reading this on HN of all places, it’s almost impossible to say this without sounding patronising but the thought of inserting ‘house for rental in destination’ or ‘destination holiday rental’ on any search engine never crossed your mind?

Not really. I just graduated and got a job, and I've never traveled out of my state before. Just got my first passport recently.

ninja edit: graduated from* college

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