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Phishing scam dupes Booking.com hoteliers
Online hotel booking platform booking.com has been hit by another phishing scam, but this time instead of targeting customers of the online travel agency, fraudsters have been duping hoteliers.
The scheme focused on hotel commissions to be paid to booking.com, with a rogue email claiming the back office automatic payment system had malfunctioned.
Hotel owners were then directed to an imitation booking.com branded page to remit their monthly fees.
Booking.com said it became aware of the scam two weeks ago, when a hotelier became suspicious after wiring payment.
According to the company "incidents appear to be limited," however a Tnooz report claims booking.com sources have said a large number of hotels could have been affected.
One hotelier is said to have paid tens of thousands of Euros to the bogus account.
"A dedicated security team is working with our Hotels Department and Customer Relations teams to detect attacks and contact and support accommodation partners who may have been affected. "We will work with all banks to attempt to freeze the fraudulent bank accounts where possible," the company said in a statement.
"We are communicating with law enforcement, and we continue to support the authorities with their investigations. We advise all partners to contact us immediately if they suspect Booking.com is being referenced in a phishing email they receive."
This is the second scam to hit booking.com in a matter of months.
In November, a reported 10,000 customers were affected by a widespread phishing scam.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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