I’m afraid I will have to be adding to the list of guest horror stories of scams involving Airbnb. It’s great to know (and let others know) that if things go wrong with this company their stance is an complete and utter refusal to accept that they have operated with any neglect to customer protection when in fact the opposite is true. I was recently looking for an apartment to rent in Dublin as I’m having a party there in October. I found a great apartment listed normally along with lots of others on Airbnb. This listing turned out to be completely fake but led me to transfer – in good faith – £834 to a criminal’s bank account whilst parading under a false Airbnb official-looking email address. I had never used the site before and was unfamiliar with the payment process. The following day, having reported the fake listing, I contacted my bank’s fraud department; a friend of mine was still able to find the fake listing and communicate with the fake host. It’s so infuriating that Airbnb did not even attempt to take the fake listing down immediately to protect others. I have had an official email ending my dispute from Airbnb exonerating themselves completely from any blame. My bank has asked Barclays for the funds back from the criminal’s account (highly unlikely) and informed me not to get my hopes up as MACs transfers are virtually irreversible. I feel totally disgusted by Airbnb’s response to my problem, their lack of urgency in taking the fake listing down, and the hundreds of other stories that I have since read with the same problem. Airbnb should not get away with this.
Neophyte? Is that a fancy word for CAN’T RREAD????? Millions of people use Airbnb with no issue. If you can’t read and follow basic instructions you shouldn’t leave home let alone travel the world ….. sheesh.
Airbnb absolutely needs to do a better job of policing its listings to prevent fraudulent listings
This user was a neophyte, not an experienced devotee of the cult of Airbnb
He will be telling his story to his friends and family- who will subsequently be reluctant to use Airbnb- damaging their business as well as that of their property listers
Airbnb has got nothing to do with this case: it is crystal clearly stated that you should NOT transfer any money outside Airbnb. Your own stupidity is entirely to blame.