Guides·Scam watch

Airbnb Scams: 8 Common Tricks and How to Avoid Them

Most rental scams work the same way: get you off the platform, then get your money or your login. Here are the tricks renters report most, and the tell for each one.

By The Renter’s Court · Updated October 22, 2026

Every week our NitemAirbnb feed collects public claims from renters, and the same scams come up again and again. Here are the eight we see most, what they look like, and how to stay out of them.

1. The fake support number

You have a problem with a booking, search “Airbnb customer service,” and call the first number you see. It is a scammer. They sound helpful, ask for a code that was just texted to you, or send you a file or app to “process your refund.”

In one case reported in Indian media this month, a retired man trying to book a Diwali trip called a number he believed was Airbnb support, was sent app files over WhatsApp and lost about ₹9.77 lakh (roughly $11,500) across 17 transactions. Read the claim in our feed.

How to avoid it: open the Airbnb app or type airbnb.com yourself and use the Help Center’s contact page (Airbnb: Contact Airbnb Support). Airbnb says it will never call to ask you to change a payout method or share one-time codes, passwords or payment details, and that scammers can fake caller ID to look like Airbnb (Airbnb: Identify fraudulent emails, calls and websites). Real support will never ask you to install an app sent over chat.

2. “Pay me directly and save”

The host offers a discount if you book outside the platform, or asks you to finish payment by bank transfer, Zelle, a payment app, crypto or gift cards. Once the money leaves the platform it is very hard to get back.

How to avoid it: refuse and report it. Airbnb’s rules forbid hosts from asking guests to book or pay off Airbnb, and it lists wire and bank transfers, cashier’s checks, money orders and PDF invoices as signs of fraud (Airbnb: If a host asks you to pay outside Airbnb). Paying outside Airbnb also means losing AirCover. The FTC says anyone who demands wire transfers, gift cards, payment apps or crypto for a vacation rental is running a scam, every time (FTC: Avoid scams when you travel).

3. The fake listing

Gorgeous photos, a great price, and a home that is not for rent or does not exist. Scammers copy pictures from real listings or real estate sites. The FTC describes both versions in its guide to rental listing scams (FTC: Rental listing scams).

How to avoid it: reverse-image-search the photos, search the address, and be suspicious of new listings with no reviews and prices far below the area. Our host-checking checklist walks through it step by step.

4. The phishing link that looks like Airbnb

An email or text says your booking will be canceled unless you “confirm payment” at a link. The page looks exactly like Airbnb, but the address is slightly off. Airbnb says real emails only come from a short list of its own domains, and fakes often use look-alikes such as reservation-airbnb.com (Airbnb: official email domains).

How to avoid it: do not click. Open the app and check your trips. If the reservation and the message are not there, it is not real. Hosts’ accounts on booking sites can be hacked too, so a scam message can even arrive inside a real booking thread, as in this reported Booking.com phishing wave.

5. The last-minute switch

Hours before check-in, the host says there is a plumbing problem or a leak and offers “a similar place nearby.” Sometimes it is a genuine emergency. Sometimes it is a bait and switch, where the nice listing is bait and you land somewhere worse. In one federal case, prosecutors said a rental business ran this play across nearly 100 rentals. Read the full story in The Brief.

How to avoid it: do not accept a switch inside a private chat. Ask the host to cancel through the platform, then contact Airbnb. If a host cancels before check-in, Airbnb says you are entitled to a full refund and it will help you rebook when possible (Airbnb Rebooking and Refund Policy).

6. Listing hijacks and fake hosts

A scammer takes over a real host’s account or listing, or lists a home they do not own. Guests show up to find the owner never rented it. Police in one New Jersey town warned that a local home was listed online without the owner’s permission. See the report.

How to avoid it: keep every message and payment on the platform. Vrbo’s guarantee covers fraudulent listings only when you paid through its own checkout (Vrbo guarantee terms, PDF).

7. The fake damage claim

After checkout, a host claims you caused expensive damage and sends photos. Some are real. Some are not. One guest told The Guardian a host claimed more than £12,000 (roughly $16,000) in damage using photos she said were digitally altered. Read how she appealed.

How to avoid it: take a quick time-stamped video of every room when you arrive and again when you leave. If a claim comes in, respond in writing through the Resolution Center, ask for receipts and original photos, and send your own.

8. Social media and “too good” deals

A post in a travel group or a sponsored ad offers a villa at half price, with booking through a link or a direct message. Airbnb does not process payments for places found on other websites, so any “Airbnb payment page” you reach from a social post is fake.

How to avoid it: find the listing yourself on the platform, by searching the app, before you pay anything.

Already sent money? Do this now

1. Call your bank or card issuer and report the payment as fraud. Speed matters. Ask about a chargeback or recall. The FTC explains your credit card dispute rights (FTC: Disputing charges).
2. Secure your account. If you shared a code or password, change it, turn on two-step verification and contact Airbnb through the app.
3. Report the scam message inside the app (Airbnb: report a message).
4. Report to authorities: ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the FBI’s IC3 in the US.
5. Tell other renters. Report your stay so the next person searching finds it.

Sources

1. Airbnb Help Center: Identify fraudulent emails, calls, texts and websites
2. Airbnb Help Center: Contact Airbnb Support
3. Airbnb Help Center: If a host asks you to pay outside Airbnb
4. Airbnb Help Center: Report a message
5. Airbnb Rebooking and Refund Policy
6. FTC Consumer Advice: Avoid scams when you travel
7. FTC Consumer Advice: Rental listing scams
8. FTC Consumer Advice: Using credit cards and disputing charges
9. Vrbo: Book with Confidence guarantee terms (PDF)

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Platform policies change, so check the linked source for the current version. Spot an error? Tell us.