There are many misfortunes that may happen to Airbnb hosts and property managers. People may damage your apartment, leave bad reviews, throw a party at your place, and misbehave in a bunch of other ways. But what probably worries you the most (since you are reading this article) is scams on Airbnb.
Well, things happen.
Even though most people are honest, you can meet someone who will abuse your trust. Guests create fake Airbnb profiles, engage in phishing, and make fraudulent overpayments only to ask for a refund. These are just a few examples.
Sometimes people are crazy creative with Airbnb scams, like in the case WildWonder6430 shares on Reddit:
“I had the fake mouse scam. Guest brought a pet white mouse with them (seen on a Ring doorbell camera in a little clear carrier) sent video of white mouse in the kitchen, running on the bathroom floor, etc and tries to get a stay for free. I submitted video to AirBnB and they sided with me.”
Read on to get better prepared for meeting scammers on Airbnb. We will cover top Airbnb guest red flags, common scam schemes, and tips to prevent fraud.
Can you get scammed on Airbnb as a host?
Let’s start with a simple but popular question: can I get scammed on Airbnb? Unfortunately, yes, you can. Airbnb, booking, and Vrbo scams are real.
Airbnb fraud happens both to guests and hosts, as people with bad intentions exist everywhere. Even though the web is packed with guest complaints, property owners and managers suffer from Airbnb scams equally. That’s why you must know what Airbnb scams to look out for to minimize the risks.
What are Airbnb scams?
Scams are fraudulent schemes and behaviors that result in hosts or guests losing their money or suffering other damage like personal data leakage.
The most common scenarios when it comes to Airbnb scams are identity theft, phishing scams, refund scams aka chargebacks, identity theft, vacation rental scams, and fake reviews, among others. We will talk more about them below.
What happens if you don’t protect yourself properly against scams?
Losing money is the most obvious consequence of Airbnb scams by guests. You either don’t get paid for the offered services or need to refund a part of the sum for no valid reason. If it happens too often, your Airbnb property may turn from a profitable business into a money pit.
Another consequence of trusting people too much and letting them live in your property without prior checks is an increased risk of damage. Guests may scrape your floor, break furniture, steal stuff, and refuse to pay for it. Again, you lose money.
Reputational losses also often result from Airbnb scams. Scammers may threaten to leave negative reviews about you and even file a suit. These people spoil your life just because they can or to get special treatment.
That’s why you should learn to detect Airbnb suspicious guests and say no to them early on. Can you get scammed on Airbnb? Sure. Is it something inevitable? No, if you take precautions.
7 most common Airbnb scams to look out for
To avoid the frustration of becoming a scam victim, you must know how they look. This way, you can spot suspicious activities and prevent Airbnb guest scams before they happen.
- Accidental overpayments
Scammers may send more money than needed, pretend it’s an accident, and ask to refund the excess through a wire transfer or an alternative payment method. The card they use for payment is fraudulent, and you won’t get paid for the booking later. The person will disappear once you refund the overpayment, leaving you at a loss. So, if someone makes too generous payments, think twice before trusting them.
- Property damage or theft scams
Some guests intentionally damage your property and steal valuable items or even trinkets. Such behavior usually doesn’t make much sense since the legal consequences of stealing something are severe, and selling stolen items is difficult, but people still do that.
This type of Airbnb scams causes a lot of trouble to hosts. Unless you use short-term rental insurance and damage protection, financial losses may be significant. Even though you can engage the Airbnb support team or police, proving that the specific guest did something may be challenging and exhausting.
- Credit card chargebacks
Chargebacks are another common case of Airbnb guest scamming hosts. People pay for their booking with a credit card and then file a dispute with the card issuer to get their money back. They claim the transaction is unauthorized or fraudulent and ask to recover the damage. If the issuer accepts their request, the money is sent back to the guest’s account while the host is left with nothing.
Read more about how to prevent vacation rental chargebacks.
- Phishing scams
If you get a suspicious email or message that looks like it is from Airbnb and asks for personal or financial details, it may be a phishing attack. Phishing messages also often include links with an urgent call to action, and once you click it, the malware installs on your device.
Scammers mimic Airbnb to weaken your vigilance and get the information they need to access your credit cards or steal your account. That’s why you must be extra careful when Airbnb requests information you have already shared in your profile or sends you strange links.
- Cleaning fee refunds
Many hosts complain about cleaning refund Airbnb scams that usually look like the one in the story by 1234frmr Reddit user:
“Guest asks for a cleaning fee discount. Doesn’t get the discount, books anyway, then sends a litany of bullshit complaints (stains on sheets, mis-installed light fixtures, photos don’t match, spiders, cobwebs.) Wants…no surprise, the cleaning fee refunded.”
So if you are sure that the cleaning charges are fair, as is the quality of the cleaning, communicate to potential guests that you cannot give them a discount. Actually, such requests may be Airbnb red flags, and the reason to reject the booking request to avoid potential trouble.
- Fake profiles
That’s the classic Airbnb scams for hosts. Scammers use fake personal information to create a profile, book the property, and get access to your address and other details. What they do next depends on the type of scam. Fake guests may do chargebacks, threaten you with bad reviews, or even come to your property and turn it into a mess. Such cases are a pure hell to handle since you have no information about who stands behind the booking.
- Dishonest reviews
Reviews are a powerful tool that allows guests and hosts to learn more about each other and decide whether they are a good match. Yet, when it comes to Airbnb scams, reviews can become a weapon. Scammers may threaten the host to leave a negative review if they refuse to make a discount, give them something for free, or do another favor they aren’t obliged to do.
Even the worst guests may reserve the right to leave a review, like in the case of Pinch2:
“To make a long story short, he refused to leave. He ignored me and Airbnb, stayed +24 hours in my home free of charge, broke the rules, argued with me constantly. For $26CAD a night.
The police were involved and it cost me +$100 for my partner to drop everything and drive 600 km round trip to help.
He still gets to leave me a review.”
Airbnb red flags: How to spot Airbnb scams
Now that you know the answer to the question “Does Airbnb have scams?”, it’s time to talk about ways to battle them. The easiest one is to detect scammers before they enter your apartment or even get confirmed. Here are some tips on spotting potential troublemakers:
Do background research on the guest
Once you know the guest’s name, google them and look for their profiles on social media. It’s not an intrusion into private lives since you can see only the information they voluntarily share. A good sign is when you can find at least some mentions about your potential guests and the photos match their profile picture. It means the person is real and lowers the risk of common Airbnb scams.
Message and accept payments through Airbnb
Someone asks you to leave the platform and communicate elsewhere? Airbnb red flags detected! Airbnb is pretty convenient to use and keep everything in one place. Users can check the property listing, message the host, and pay for rental services. These records may later become proof of someone’s wrongdoings. So, if a potential guest refuses to stay within Airbnb, watch out.
Be careful with links
When you get Airbnb-like messages or emails with links, don’t click them until you make sure it’s the official communication. Such messages are very likely to include phishing content and result in scams.
Some of the red flags to look out for:
- Urgent action demand
- Inconsistencies in the email address or link format
- Request for personal information or credentials
- Grammar or spelling errors
- Special offer that seems too good to be true
Last-minute bookings
If someone books a property just before checking in and doesn’t pay right away, you may be about to become a scam victim.
Airbnb superhost Robin Shannon shares his experience:
“There is a scam associated with Instant book where the guest will book to arrive on the same day. The guest has 24 hours to make payment but because the booking was via Instant Book the guest gets all the hosts details, turns up and stays the night, leaves the next morning without providing Airbnb with the payment! The host is the one out of pocket!
What to do if you get scammed on Airbnb?
If the worst has happened and someone scammed you, stay calm and go step by step to increase your chances of getting your money back. The Airbnb dispute resolution process may be time-consuming, but many hosts have managed to achieve justice.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Document every detail. Don’t rely on your Airbnb account to keep the information. Create copies of communications with the guest and booking details. Take pictures of your property proving the guest stayed there (if they did) and get video evidence.
- Contact Airbnb support. Reach out to Airbnb and tell them what happened. Send them any supporting documentation and evidence to make a strong point. Airbnb encourages guests and hosts to try to reach an agreement before reporting, so make sure you have talked to the guest about the issues before contacting Airbnb. It’s better to do it within 72 hours after the incident happens.
- Stay in touch with the Airbnb support team, following their instructions and providing all the necessary details. Be ready for the claim resolution to drag on for months.
- Consider taking legal action if the financial losses resulting from the scam are too big and Airbnb fails to solve the problem. It’s the last resort you’d better avoid to save money and nerves.
Limitations of the Airbnb screening process
Does Airbnb protect against scams? Yes and no. The platform has some tools and measures to reduce the risks, but the Airbnb ID verification and guest screening process has limitations.
First, Airbnb background guest screening is far from perfect. Even though Airbnb checks some guests, it admits to not checking everyone. The platform also stresses that the databases they use may be slightly outdated or have gaps.
Second, when Airbnb scams happen, the Airbnb team may take too long to handle the dispute and often sides with guests. If you don’t provide 100% evidence of a scam, chances are you will lose the case.
Additional ways to check guests and prevent Airbnb scams
You don’t have to put all the responsibility for scam prevention on Airbnb. There are many things you can do yourself, including thorough guest screening. Use manual checks or integrate specialized tools to automate the process and optimize your effort.
Manual checks online
Manual guest screening is mostly about using what you know about your guest to verify their identity. You can google their name to check if the person is real and find some possible warning signals.
We also recommend asking guests to provide an ID copy since Airbnb doesn’t share ID details with hosts. But note that you must indicate an ID copy as a requirement in your booking terms. Only then can you ask guests to provide one.
Another helpful hack to avoid Airbnb scams is a brief chat with a guest. You can ask them additional questions about the goal of their visit, previous experiences with Airbnb, etc. It’s a quick way to learn more about the guest and make sure they are worth trusting.
Find more tips on how to check guests yourself.
Automating guest screening
Automated guest checks are much more efficient than manual. You can use Know Your Guest by Superhog to set up an automated screening process. This platform automatically runs ID verification, authenticates your guest’s details, and offers additional tools for guest damage protection.
Specialized software is an easy solution to avoid wasting time manually checking every person and turning your rental business into a full-time job. After the booking is confirmed, the guest automatically receives a unique verification link. They must fill out basic personal information, upload their government ID photo, and take a real-time selfie.
You don’t have to send tons of messages asking for extra details. Know Your Guest automatically requests the necessary information and runs background checks.
Many rental businesses like HOLT already use automated ID verification to minimize Airbnb scams. Benjamin Earley, CEO of HOLT, states that “10% of guests are likely to cause trouble. Without tools like Know Your Guest, we cannot know who this 10% are, so everyone has to be treated as a potential bad guest.”
Superhog guest screening fights scams
Know Your Guest by Superhog is a toolkit to help you avoid Airbnb scams by detecting scammers early on. It automates the guest screening process for short-term rentals, sparing hosts and property managers from the need to analyze every detail of booking requests.
Use Know Your Guest to automatically gather basic personal information about your guests and check them against multiple databases for identity verification. It will help you avoid fraudulent booking and credit card scams. You can also use the platform to gather damage deposits and offer waivers as an additional means to protect yourself from scams and property damage.
Get started now and book a demo to learn more about Know Your Guest.
Airbnb scams FAQs
