We have already talked about Airbnb scams and ways to manage them in our previous article. But is the same true for Vrbo?
Unfortunately, Vrbo scams also happen. Even though both platforms have different rules for dealing with fraudulent activities, none can protect you 100%. That’s why you must know what Vrbo fraud looks like and adopt effective means to prevent it. It’s time to take care of your listings.
More about Vrbo scams and effective ways to prevent them through guest screening in today’s post.
Can you get scammed on Vrbo?
Are there scams on Vrbo? The quick answer is yes. Vrbo admits that fraud cases exist and even provides direct instructions on what can happen and how to behave.
Vrbo scams usually take the form of:
- overpayments and refund requests,
- credit card chargebacks
- vacation rental scams
- Phishing, smishing, and vishing attacks
Yet scammers are truly creative these days and may surprise you with a scam no one has even expected. That’s why you should always keep a sharp eye on guests.
What is a Vrbo scam?
Vrbo scams (just like any scams) are fraudulent actions people take to get your money and access your personal information or account. These are messages, emails, requests, and bookings that look normal but cause damage. Scammers usually have a specific purpose and a carefully planned fraudulent scheme they use over and over until someone catches them. For example, they may create fake accounts to make quick bookings and enter properties without paying.
Most frequent Vrbo scams for owners
Vrbo has done more profound work than Airbnb to inform its users about possible scams. The platform lists different Vrbo inquiry scams in its policies and is more open about what may happen. Here are the scams they list as the most common and some other popular types of fraud.
Overpayments and refund requests
In this scheme, a potential guest sends you a counterfeit cashier’s check or money order and immediately asks for a refund. Since things happen very fast, the bank doesn’t know that the payment is counterfeit and may issue a refund.
Another case is when scammers make an overpayment with a fraudulent credit card and want their money back. If you believe them and issue the refund, you will never receive the remaining booking payment.
Surprise trip plan
These Vrbo inquiry scams are very easy to fall into. While you want to help people organize something special, scammers abuse your trust to get your money or unlawfully enter the property.
What does it look like? A scammer books a property and claims they do it for a gift, surprise vacation, etc. As a result, owners have no objections when someone else’s name appears in payment details. No objections until they never receive their money, get a chargeback, or have their house destroyed.
This is one of the common scams on Vrbo. We don’t want to say that all surprise trips are scams, but the risks are much higher. So, if you want to accept such a booking request, at least make a more profound guest verification and consider selling a damage waiver.
Credit card chargebacks
Bad people have always abused their right to make a credit card chargeback, and Vrbo is no exception. Scammers may complain about your services and ask a bank to refund a payment even when their stay was perfect.
A C user shares their story on TripAdvisor:
“She threatened to leave and cancel her payment if I did not drop the pet fee. I told her she was welcome to stay but had to pay the new fee and mind the rules. Next day she left after staying for two nights and made a full payment chargeback on her credit card.
VBRO said they will defend me on her claim – I had videos and all convos on their platform to submit- her credit card company makes the decision. In the meantime, no VBRO payouts until the matter is resolved. Yes, this person was a scammer from the beginning. She would have kept it up had she not realized that I was documenting everything and I was professional.”
Short-stay fraud
Such scams are likely to happen when someone makes a booking just before arriving. They book a stay with a fraudulent payment method and live in your property before your bank figures out that the money cannot be reversed. If you are lucky enough, cleaning fees will be your only financial loss. If not, such a guest may leave considerable damage.
Negative comments
Vrbo scammers may hold you hostage by threatening you with negative comments if you don’t follow their instructions. They may ask you for another free day or to forgive the damage caused. Cases vary. The key point is that you have to decide: do what they want or get a negative review.
A story like that has happened with Emine Özdemir:
“I had bad experience with guests and don’t want to rent my Airbnb or Booking to them any more. But some guests got a new account for repeat booking and I didn’t recognize them. There were also guests who wrote retaliatory reviews which were difficult to remove, producing negative impact on the sequential bookings. Only one bad review could make my vacancy rate higher.”
Phishing, smishing, and vishing
Three words, many troubles. Phishing, smishing, and vishing are fraudulent schemes that trick people into sharing sensitive information, sending money, or installing malware:
- Phishing is related to fraudulent emails.
- Smishing happens through SMS, WhatsApp messages, and other messaging platforms.
- Vishing involves fraudulent phone calls with an automated voice system.
Here’s a typical scam: A scammer reaches you on behalf of the person or platform you know, like Vrbo. You receive a request to share your personal data and credit card info or take another action. A typical case is clicking a link that leads to a fake webpage that triggers malware installation. Voila! Now, attackers know your personal details and can use them to access your finances or keep spreading malware messages.
Fight VRBO scams to save your rental business from a failure
Every scam makes you one step closer to spending on property maintenance more than earning from rental. That’s the main reason to analyze your guests more deeply before letting them into your property.
Another reason to learn to detect Vrbo inquiry scams early on is to save time. Communication with scammers and dispute resolution may take hours or even days. You will need to prepare tons of evidence to prove that the scam is real, which also takes time. Stress and exhaustion are guaranteed.
Finally, Vrbo scams undermine your reputation. Scammers may leave negative reviews about your property that will repel loyal guests and make your listing less popular.
Read about the Vrbo insurance to understand how it protects you.
6 red flags that may precede scams on Vrbo
A fake Vrbo inquiry has some signs, and if you know them, it may save you from fraud and disappointment. You will spot scammers from the first move to reject their booking request and avoid sharing any personal information. Here are the red flags to look out for based on Vrbo scam protection policy and our own experience.
- Grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes
Of course, people make mistakes, and you shouldn’t judge anyone too harshly. Yet if you see that mistakes are unusual or text feels automatically generated, it may point to Vrbo scams. You may not reject such requests immediately but should definitely keep an eye on such inquiries and look for other red flags.
- Overpayment and refund request
If someone sends you more money than your property rental costs, wake up. It’s not a dream. Or at least not a good one. Overpayments are often the first step of Vrbo fraud. Scammers send extra funds from a fraudulent card and then ask to refund a difference, but you never receive the remaining sum. Since the card is fraudulent, the bank cannot send your money, leaving you with nothing.
- Messages that don’t match your property info
Besides grammar and punctuation mistakes, be careful with the content of messages and emails you receive. If the information they contain seems unrelated to your property or bookings, most likely it is. Be particularly careful, if a message creates a sense of urgency and pushes you into taking a specific action like clicking a link or filling out a form.
- Refusal to pay via Vrbo
Requests to pay with unsecured channels like wire transfers or certified and cashier’s checks are a huge red flag. Why would someone need to pay outside the platform that is so convenient and secure? Decent guests are no less interested in having a proven transaction history than you.
That’s why you must follow the rules of Vrbo and never accept payment through alternative methods. You should watch out for common excuses like:
- “I always pay with a cashier’s check and don’t have other payment methods”
- “Credit cards aren’t available or safe in my location”
- “That’s my spouse/employer paying, so I have to use a check”
- Rude communicators
You shouldn’t put up with rude behavior, regardless of whether it’s a scam or not. Still, when someone is too sharp or insulting when you ask them basic questions about their stay, it may be a sign of a scam. Being afraid that you will expose their intentions, such people attack first. When potential guests ignore your message or provide too general answers, it’s also a red flag. That’s why you should prefer renters who can properly communicate and are ready to share more information about their stay.
- Incomplete profiles
Users with little details about themselves in their profiles and no reviews or photos are red flags. Maybe they just have registered on the platform, and you are their first booking. But it could be one of Vrbo scams. The best way to handle requests from such profiles are background checks and some extra communication with potential guests. Ask them whether it’s their first time booking through Airbnb, what is the goal of their visit, etc. Read more about Vrbo background checks here.
Vrbo guest screening process. How reliable is it?
Vrbo does check guests. The problem is the screening process has too many limitations and isn’t profound enough to protect you against scams. When you get a booking request, you may see a Verified Identity badge, which means Vrbo has verified the user’s date of birth, physical address, and some other personal information. Is it enough to prevent scams? We doubt it.
Fortunately, Vrbo allows you to adopt additional tools for guest verification. Hence, you can implement manual and automated guest checks to protect yourself against fraud.
What if you get scammed on Vrbo?
If someone scams you on Vrbo, you must contact the support team and file a dispute. But before you do it, we recommend gathering the evidence. You need solid proof to get your money back and punish the offender.
Here are the steps to follow:
- Make copies of all communications with the scammer that happened within Vrbo and outside the platform. Keep them in a separate location like your Google Drive.
- Have the final talk with the scammer to ensure they refuse to return the money and take no responsibility for their actions. This conversation may become another proof during the dispute resolution process.
- Report the scam to Vrbo, providing all the evidence you have collected. Follow their instructions to solve the dispute and stay in touch with the support team.
How to report a scammer on Vrbo?
You can go to the Vrbo help center, click Contact Us, select who you are (Owner/Property Manager), and choose the category that best describes your issue.
How to do more effective guest screening yourself
Since Vrbo guest checks cannot always ensure proper protection against scams, you should develop your own screening procedures. Manual checks may be enough if you only have one property you rent occasionally. Yet, you must automate the process for short-term rental businesses with multiple properties.
How to detect scams with manual checks? You need to keep a close watch on potential guests’ messages, profiles, reviews, and booking conditions to spot the red flags we’ve listed above. You can also search each guest on the web and social media to ensure they are a real person, not a scammer. If the name and profile picture match, chances are it’s someone worth trusting.
Automated checks are deeper than manual ones and require much less effort. You only need to integrate a tool like Know Your Guest by Superhog, and the platform will automatically scan every guest. It will send them a unique verification link to gather personal details Vrbo doesn’t collect and authenticate renters based on multiple authoritative databases.
Superhog for automated guest checks
Superhog offers the Know Your Guest toolkit for automating ID verification and guest screening. The platform automatically checks all your potential guests while you focus on more important tasks.
ID verification requests guests to follow the online verification process to share basic personal information and accept liability for damage. It also collects a government ID photo and real-time selfie for extra security. The Guest screening tool checks the validity of the information provided by guests against multiple reliable data sources to detect mismatches and inform you about them.
Book a demo to learn more about Know Your Guest.
