IDAHO — As you're trying to get those end-of-summer vacations in and decide to book a place through Airbnb or VRBO, be wary about how you book as scammers have found a new way to steal your money.
The Better Business Bureau is getting reports of scammers making listings on legitimate websites such as Airbnb, but when you try to book your stay, you'll get a message from the listing's host telling you that you can save a lot of money by sending the money through financial apps like Venmo or Zelle. Once you send the money to reserve what should be your perfect vacation spot at a discounted rate, the supposed renter vanishes, and you're left with no protections or chances for a refund as you left the ecosystem of Airbnb or VRBO. So how can you avoid getting scammed when you're just trying to take that much needed vacation? The BBB has a few tips:
"Make sure that you use a credit card through the process. Not a debit card to get tied to your bank account credit card, improves your protections and gives you protections and then finally keep meticulous records of all of this so that you have a trail of, you know, a digital trail, so to speak or if you want to print things off, print things off," said Better Business Bureau Chief Innovation Officer Dale Dixon.
But the absolute best thing you can do is stay on the legitimate website that you found the listing on. If the renter doesn't want you to pay directly through Airbnb, VRBO, or a similar site with a proven track record and built-in protections, they're probably just looking for some easy money. For more information on this and other potential scams, head to bbb.org.
