From that unmissable place on a pole along the Great Ocean Road, to the picturesque Amalfi Coast, some views are worth the price tag.

But when the cost of accommodation seems a little too good to be true, you might be dealing with a booking scam.

How travel booking scams work

Phase 1: It’s too good to be true

It’s frustrating when you can’t find the right place for the dates you want, and everything else is out of your desired price range. But then it appears, the perfect house or apartment, in the exact part of the city you want to explore, and your luck has turned… or has it.

In travel booking scams, the property either doesn’t exist or, if it is real, the owner knowns nothing about your reservation.

Be suspicious: if something looks too good to be true, it probably is. Contact the company directly through information taken from their official website.

Phase 2: You’re taken away from the official website

Like sea water, most of the time we can smell a scam a mile away, but when a holiday is approaching it’s easy to become giddy thinking about some much needed time off, giving criminals a chance to take advantage.

With booking scams, fraudsters try to direct you away from the official booking site and ask you to pay them directly using money orders or wire transfer services. Often, they’ve created very convincing fake versions of trusted sites, and send legitimate looking emails using well known logos or email addresses that imitate the real thing.

Be cautious: pay attention to the details. Always check the website is an exact match with the official site and never click a link or reply to one of these emails.

Phase 3: The payment confirmation

The beauty of legitimate accommodation websites (like AirBnB) is that they set up secure payment systems where the operator acts as an intermediary between the traveller. This provides holiday-goers and property owners safeguards such a refunds, cancellation policies and dispute resolution.

Any request for payment to be paid via a different method not stated on the official website should be ignored and seen as a major red flag that you could be dealing with a scammer.

Be confident: back your judgement. If something doesn’t feel right, if someone tries to suggest an alternate payment type, or direct you to a different website, discontinue communicating with them.

What we’ve seen

These scams are a constant threat but are even more prevalent around long weekends (like the Easter period) and school holidays. They will also target international travellers who are planning their mid-year vacations, using different countries customs and currencies to their advantage.

What to do if you think you’ve been scammed

If you think you’ve been scammed and potentially lost money or given personal banking information to someone you should not have, please contact our friendly customer service team on 1300 654 822 immediately. Alternatively, report a scam or fraud using our online form.

If you have been asked to pay for a reservation using methods other than Airbnb’s official payment methods or if someone sends you links to a fake version of the site, email safety@airbnb.com