Booking Scam, Anyone Heard of This?

EightImmortals on 28/01/2023 - 15:34

So I have a mate who runs an eco-tourist BNB type of thing. Last year he gets a booking from a woman who pays the deposit but after a few days she then sends an email saying that her daughter has had a car accident overseas (Canada) and has broken both legs therefore she needs to cancel the booking and get refund so she can get to Canada. OK so he refunds her the deposit and life goes on.

Last week the exact same thing happened, a woman pays the deposit but after a few days she then sends an email saying that her daughter has had a car accident overseas (Canada) and has broken both legs therefore she needs to cancel the booking to get to Canada. Now once might be legit, but twice, using the same story? I advised him to talk to the bank to ensure the funds were totally clear in his account before refunding the woman. I couldn't think of what else to tell him.

(He suspects it's the same woman due to some peculiar spelling mistakes in both emails, the one from last year and the recent one)

Has anyone else heard of this scam?
Will he lose his money if he refunds the deposit which then somehow gets cancelled?

Apparently the woman is pushing him to hurry up with the refund so my suspicion is that she needs him to do the transaction before the deposit clears his account or bounces?

Any ideas?

Internet

Comments

  • Settero on 28/01/2023 - 15:39
    +6

    How is he refunding the deposit , if it's by the same payment method, so a card refund , no issue , if he is being asked to forward the funds to another account , likely being used as a money mule.

    • EightImmortals on 28/01/2023 - 15:42
      +1

      Yeah pretty sure he said they sent him bank account details to refund into. Will double check though.

      • djkelly69 on 28/01/2023 - 15:53
        +4

        Maybe booked with stolen card details then, and refunding to own bank account?

        • EightImmortals on 28/01/2023 - 15:56

          Just spoke to him, they paid via direct deposit and the payment is still uncleared at this point.

        • ForbiddenCouponJutsu on 30/01/2023 - 14:40

          That's actually a really good point, good way to net yourself some cash if you're using stolen details.

  • JimmyF on 28/01/2023 - 16:10
    +2

    Will he lose his money if he refunds the deposit which then somehow gets cancelled?

    The question is, as this is the 2nd time. Was there any funny business from the first time? I assume they got the booking deposit which was 'paid' to them that they refunded?

    He suspects it's the same woman due to some peculiar spelling mistakes in both emails, the one from last year and the recent one

    Could be the same person and this is their 'go to' story for getting refunds.

    Same email address? Same bank account details for the refund?

    Just spoke to him, they paid via direct deposit and the payment is still uncleared at this point.

    Then they need to say, sit tight and wait for the funds to clear before refunding.

  • holdenmg on 28/01/2023 - 18:08

    Hi, I read https://www.airbnb.com.au/resources/hosting-homes/a/understa… AirBNB customers in US,* UK** and Europe*** (Germany, Spain, Italy, Ireland, the Netherlands, Austria and Portugal) the opportunity to cover against cancelling.

    It may be worth watching if this is extended to other countries or if non-AirBNB, seeing if you can offer guests to pay for this cover.

    But Likely to be a Scam.

    Sometimes Genuine bookers can cancel via their Bank that has Credit Card Cover if it payment was funded in that manner.

  • spal on 28/01/2023 - 18:24
    +5

    Maybe suggest that they let the scammer know that the funds have not yet cleared, so they should approach their bank to cancel the transaction. Play them at their own game.

    • holdenmg on 28/01/2023 - 18:38

      Are there Banks that cater to scammers?
      (and aren't the Banks jealous of competitors on their turf?) lol

  • EightImmortals on 28/01/2023 - 18:55
    +2

    Thanks all, he's going to talk to the bank on Monday but at this point the deposit hasn't actually cleared so he's going to ignore the scammers and see what happens.

  • AndyC1 on 28/01/2023 - 19:15
    +2

    Say yes the money can be refunded, but it will take 14 days to process. During this time make sure the money is deposited and clears for at least a week and then refund the same way the money was paid.

  • Sinnerator on 29/01/2023 - 08:27

    Tell him to tell them that if they want him to be a money mule it needs to be 7 figures minimum

  • Love a bargain on 29/01/2023 - 15:37

    Are they getting him to refund to an account with the same name (or even same account if such info on the incoming payment can be traced)?

  • Danstar on 29/01/2023 - 17:29

    This is the same sort of scam they do on FB Marketplace.

    Hi, I can't pick up your item myself, but I'll get my wife to pick it up tomorrow I can payid you now…blah blah blah.

  • Save 50 Cent on 31/01/2023 - 07:57

    I would just say that my property is wheel-chair friendly and keep the deposit.

    • EightImmortals on 31/01/2023 - 08:26

      :)

      Apparently the daughter had her 'accident' in Canada…again.

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