‘Travelers are getting better at spotting obvious scams' — but experts warn Airbnb scams are on the…

• Airbnb scams have surged 30x since 2023, including a sharp rise this year
• Criminals hijack legitimate host accounts to to trick holidaymakers
• Staying safe isn't so straightforward as threats evolve

Airbnb-related scam activity has increased 30x since the first half of 2023, according to new research from Saily and NordStellar, confirming that cybercriminals continue to go after holidaymakers seeking the best deals amid rising prices.

The report ultimately concludes that attackers are now targeting the trust built by larger platforms, saving them from having to build new identities from scratch.

And to top it all off, the nature of scams is also changing, as instead of using suspicious websites to obtain victim payments or information, criminals are now targeting legitimate Airbnb host accounts which have spent years amassing positive reviews and high ratings.

Exploiting legitimate accounts and hijacking trust

While the end goal remains high volumes of vulnerable consumers, scammers...

Copyright of this story solely belongs to techradar.com. To see the full text click HERE