Cyber ​​criminals can spoil the joy of your vacation. Many traps are already known - but the Lower Saxony Consumer Center is now warning of a particular scam of data misuse when using booking portals.

A consumer from Lower Saxony books a trip via the booking portal Booking.com. A short time later she receives a WhatsApp message - apparently from a hotel employee who asks her some questions about the booking and sends links. The consumer does not respond to this.

Before the start of her vacation, she then receives an email: There are problems with the chosen payment method and the data would have to be entered again. The consumer would have 24 hours to do this, otherwise the booking would be canceled. The email supposedly comes from the booking portal and redirects to a website that looks deceptively similar to the original Booking.com page. The consumer is surprised and asks the hotel. However, this assures her that the booking worked and that it was probably an attempted fraud.

How do fraudsters know who has booked which hotel?

“The fraudsters don’t just have the personal data of bookers. “You even know exactly for what period of time customers have booked which hotel,” says Kathrin Bartsch, legal expert at the Lower Saxony Consumer Center. “This of course makes it even more difficult to detect an attempted fraud,” says Bartsch. “Through a hacker attack or other security gaps in the accommodation’s management tool, criminals can gain access to the data of customers who have booked via Booking.com,” says the expert. They then try to obtain credit card details with well-staged WhatsApp contact requests or emails.

Tips from the consumer advice center

“Anyone who receives a message from supposedly trustworthy senders must always be careful,” advises Bartsch. Email addresses should be checked carefully and external links should not be clicked. “Especially when account or credit card details are requested,” says the expert.

Once this data gets into the hands of criminals, it can easily be misused. “Consumers should therefore regularly check their accounts for unusual debits,” says Bartsch. If you notice any irregularities, you should report them immediately to the bank or credit card provider. In addition, those affected should always report it to the police and block their credit card.

Source:

Consumer advice center

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