BRITS have been warned of travel scams ahead of the summer holidays with hackers impersonating Booking.com in a “worrying trend”.
Holidaymakers hunting for a last-minute summer bargain are being warned that convincing copycat booking websites could leave them with no room, no refund and their card details in criminals’ hands.
Around 40 new fake Booking.com websites were detected each day at the February booking peak, according to new NordVPN research. The figure is based on detections made by NordVPN’s next-generation antivirus.
New copycat pages are still appearing as travellers search for late deals, putting victims at risk of paying for rooms that do not exist and handing over payment or login details.
Booking.com was impersonated in more malicious URLs than every other travel brand combined. It accounted for roughly three quarters of everything NordVPN detected across major travel brands this year. Airbnb was the second most impersonated travel brand, though well behind Booking.com.
AI has made these fake pages far more convincing. The old advice was to look for broken layouts and bad spelling, but those signs are no longer enough. A professionally designed booking page can still be a copy built to steal payment or login information.
Slow down
Marijus Briedis, Chief Technology Officer at NordVPN, said: “The deals that look too good to be true are the ones doing the damage. When someone finds a hotel at half the going rate, we are seeing that they are taking a risk by paying fast because they don’t want to lose it. The site takes their money and their card details, and by the time they realise the booking doesn’t exist, the trip is ruined, and their bank details are gone.”
He continued: “Scammers go where the trust already is. Booking.com is one of the first names people reach for when they plan a trip, so it’s the name most worth copying. The safest habit is to stop trusting how a site looks and start checking where you actually are, the address in the bar, how you got there, before you share anything.”
Kate Allen, Owner at Kingsbridge-based Finest Stays, said it is hard to differentiate a scam website from a legitimate one.
She added: “As a holiday letting business, this is a worrying trend. AI is making fake booking websites incredibly convincing, so it’s becoming much harder for consumers to spot a scam. Our advice is simple: wherever possible, book direct with an established local company. Check they have a genuine office, a local phone number and pick up the phone to speak to someone.
“It’s much harder to fake a real conversation than a professional-looking website. Over 85% of our bookings come directly through our website, and booking direct often saves guests around 20% compared with using an online travel agent. Ultimately, people buy from people, and the human touch is still one of the best ways to avoid being caught out.”
Real danger
Harvey Dhillon, Founder & CEO at Zmartly, said paying with a debit card can mean you are not able to get your money back.
He added: “The real danger of a holiday scam is not just the lost booking. It is that how you pay decides whether you ever see the money again. Scammers clone the names you trust, Booking.com most of all, because a trusted name lowers your guard. AI has wiped out the old warning signs, so bad spelling or a messy page means nothing. Here is the part an accountant cares about.
“Pay by credit card and Section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act makes the card company equally responsible for anything costing more than £100, up to £30,000, so if the room does not exist you claim it back from them. A debit card only gives you chargeback, a voluntary scheme, not a legal right.
“Worst of all is a bank transfer to a ‘host’: since October 2024 banks must refund most transfer scams up to £85,000, but that is slower and not guaranteed. So book direct, type the address in yourself, and pay by credit card. If a deal pushes you to bank transfer a stranger to save a fee, that is the scam.”
Daniel Mohacek, CEO of TruthEngine, warned that fake, manipulated and misleading reviews can leave travellers arriving at destinations that look very different from what was promised online.
He said: “Reviews have become one of the most powerful tools people use when booking holidays. A string of five-star ratings can persuade someone to spend thousands of pounds on a hotel, resort or rental they have never seen in person.
“The problem is that not every review tells the full story. Some may be exaggerated, outdated, incentivised or, in some cases, not actually genuine.”
He continued: “Our advice is simple, to slow down before booking.
“Read the two, three and four-star reviews as these are the least faked, check recent feedback, compare different platforms and look at real guest photos.”
Photo by sebastiaan stam on Unsplash.
