Booking.com
Travel Fraud & Accommodation Scam Investigation Program
Help identify and investigate suspected accommodation scams, fake booking websites, phishing campaigns, impersonation, and deceptive travel offers that may expose travellers to financial loss.
Program status: Pending company verification
Fraud Reporting & Investigation
Program type
Not yet available
Response rate
Not yet available
First response time
Global
Geographical scope
Pending verification
Program status
What We're Investigating
This is an independent AbuseOne reporting initiative for online fraud and abuse that exploits the Booking.com brand, from fake accommodation websites and misleading property listings to reservation phishing, fake customer support and suspicious off-platform payment requests.
Researchers document what they observe through lawful, publicly accessible information. AbuseOne reviews every submission individually and links related indicators to uncover coordinated travel scams.
- Booking.com
- Industry
- Travel & Hospitality
- Program type
- Independent Fraud Reporting
- Rewards
- Not offered
- Program status
- Pending verification
- Website
- booking.com
Investigation Categories
Reports must contain evidence of suspected deception. Legitimate cancellations, booking disputes, pricing disagreements and ordinary customer-service complaints are not fraud on their own.
Not a vulnerability disclosure program. Do not access private accounts, impersonate customers or travellers, contact suspects under false pretences, or make bookings or payments to generate evidence.
In scope for reporting
Abuse indicators you can report.
Fake accommodation websites
Lookalike domains and cloned booking sites that imitate Booking.com or a property to collect payments.
Fraudulent or misleading listings
Property listings that misrepresent the accommodation, its location or its availability in order to deceive travellers.
Booking confirmation and payment phishing
Fake reservation confirmations, payment links and login pages designed to steal credentials or card details.
Fake Booking.com customer support
Fraudulent helplines, social media accounts and messaging channels posing as Booking.com support.
Impersonation of accommodation providers
Parties falsely presenting themselves as a hotel, host or property manager.
Suspicious off-platform payments
Requests to pay by bank transfer, crypto or payment links outside the normal booking flow.
Fake refund and cancellation messages
Deceptive refund offers or cancellation notices used to extract payments or personal data.
Coordinated travel scams
Scams involving multiple connected domains, listings, accounts or other observable indicators.
Out of scope / not authorised
Do not do the following, and do not report it here.
Legitimate cancellations
Cancellations made by a property or traveller under the applicable booking terms.
Booking and pricing disputes
Disagreements about prices, fees, room quality or refunds without evidence of deception.
Customer-service complaints
Ordinary service issues. Contact Booking.com or the property directly.
Speculative accusations
Claims without supporting evidence, including unsubstantiated claims about individual properties.
Duplicate reports
Reports repeating an existing case without meaningful additional evidence.
Unauthorized access or test bookings
Accessing accounts you do not own, or making bookings or payments to investigate.
How it works
How your report moves from submission to an outcome.
- 01
Discover
Discover a suspicious listing, domain, message or advertisement connected to the Booking.com brand.
- 02
Investigate
Investigate using lawful, publicly accessible information and document URLs, timestamps and connections between indicators.
- 03
Submit
Submit a structured report with supporting evidence through AbuseOne.
- 04
Review
AbuseOne reviews the findings, checks for duplicates and determines appropriate escalation. Booking.com does not receive reports automatically.
Report statuses
- Submitted
- Under Review
- Investigating
- Awaiting Company Response
- Resolved
- Closed
Confidential. Reports and evidence are only accessible to authorised AbuseOne personnel. Findings are shared with Booking.com only where an authorised relationship and data-sharing arrangements exist.
Eligible reports
A useful report includes, where available:
- Relevant URLs and domain names.
- Property listing links.
- Screenshots showing the suspected deception.
- Dates and timestamps.
- Suspicious messages, emails or payment requests.
- Domain information, such as registration or hosting details.
- A clear explanation of the suspected deception.
Redact personal and payment information that is not necessary to substantiate your report, such as card numbers, booking references of other people and contact details.
Program Activity
No program activity is shown. Statistics will only appear after Booking.com verifies the program.
Guidelines
Follow these rules for every report you submit to this program.
- Use only lawful, publicly accessible information.
- Never access private accounts or bypass access controls.
- Do not impersonate customers, travellers or accommodation providers.
- Do not make bookings or payments to generate evidence.
- Do not collect personal information unlawfully.
- Keep reports and evidence confidential. Do not share them publicly.
Researcher recognition
Rewards are subject to confirmation.
This program does not offer financial rewards. Reports are reviewed to help protect travellers and accommodation providers from fraud.
- Valid report count
- Reputation points
- Researcher achievements
- Hall of Fame recognition, where approved
Recognition is not guaranteed and only reflects actual, verified contributions. Public profiles never show confidential investigations or company information.
Get started
Help keep Booking.com and the internet safer.
Report suspected booking scams, fake listings and travel phishing. Every report is reviewed individually and handled confidentially.