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I will disclose, that I have been an NZ based AirBnB host for nearly 3 years. I am very strict with my business, paying all required taxes and doing everything fair and by the book, unlike some other hosts I have heard of.
Recently, my account was compromised and my identity was stolen. 1 hour after the first breach, my account was used to book 4 properties in the same country the offender hacked into my account from. To this day I do not know how my account was breached, as AirBnb have refused to discuss the matter in any form with me. It was so bad, I had to take steps myself to prevent further account breaches and secure the account myself.
I had mid 4 figure sums taken from my account to book the 4 properties for 2 days each, when the attacker used my account, good feedback and name to book 4 properties. It was clear to me (I have a background in computer forensics) that this was not the first time the hacker had done this.
The breach was reported within 1 hour of it occurring, and 4 hours after this one of the hosts let the attacker into the property. She stated she let him in because of my profile and the good reputation I had.
After 15 hours and 3 phone calls, I was unconvinced AirBnB was doing all it could to protect the hosts so I contacted the 4 hosts at risk directly. I was shocked to hear from two of them, that they had not heard from AirBnB. I was even more shocked to hear that one host had personally let the person into her property for the booked stay, or so she thought. I told her to get the Police and go to her property - she went with her husband, and was horrified to find that every piece of property inside the house had been stolen.
Later in the afternoon, the four figure funds taken from my account to pay for the stays was refunded, however the last time I spoke to the host (9 days later) AirBnB still had not contacted her, and refused to speak to her when she called them. I do not know what happened to the other 3 hosts, 1 responded but could not understand English, and two never responded.
I managed to track the hacker, I found out his name, where he lives, his phone number, his email address and have multiple photos of him. AirBnB has been told this, however has never engaged me to retrieve the information or have me explain how I obtained this.
I can say that I have been to a large media organisation over this and although they were very interested in the case, were unwilling to take it on as a stand alone case, as they felt it needed to be bought as part of a total case surrounding security of property owners when hosting short term guests.
I still host, however I take security seriously and take big steps (all legal, of course), to ensure that my property stays inside the confines of my spaces, and that if it does not I can track every single item.
I fear for the 99% of hosts, that expect and assume AirBnB will protect them in the case of theft, property damage, hacked accounts, identity theft, or fraud - because I have experienced first hand that they absolutely will not.
Recently, my account was compromised and my identity was stolen. 1 hour after the first breach, my account was used to book 4 properties in the same country the offender hacked into my account from. To this day I do not know how my account was breached, as AirBnb have refused to discuss the matter in any form with me. It was so bad, I had to take steps myself to prevent further account breaches and secure the account myself.
I had mid 4 figure sums taken from my account to book the 4 properties for 2 days each, when the attacker used my account, good feedback and name to book 4 properties. It was clear to me (I have a background in computer forensics) that this was not the first time the hacker had done this.
The breach was reported within 1 hour of it occurring, and 4 hours after this one of the hosts let the attacker into the property. She stated she let him in because of my profile and the good reputation I had.
After 15 hours and 3 phone calls, I was unconvinced AirBnB was doing all it could to protect the hosts so I contacted the 4 hosts at risk directly. I was shocked to hear from two of them, that they had not heard from AirBnB. I was even more shocked to hear that one host had personally let the person into her property for the booked stay, or so she thought. I told her to get the Police and go to her property - she went with her husband, and was horrified to find that every piece of property inside the house had been stolen.
Later in the afternoon, the four figure funds taken from my account to pay for the stays was refunded, however the last time I spoke to the host (9 days later) AirBnB still had not contacted her, and refused to speak to her when she called them. I do not know what happened to the other 3 hosts, 1 responded but could not understand English, and two never responded.
I managed to track the hacker, I found out his name, where he lives, his phone number, his email address and have multiple photos of him. AirBnB has been told this, however has never engaged me to retrieve the information or have me explain how I obtained this.
I can say that I have been to a large media organisation over this and although they were very interested in the case, were unwilling to take it on as a stand alone case, as they felt it needed to be bought as part of a total case surrounding security of property owners when hosting short term guests.
I still host, however I take security seriously and take big steps (all legal, of course), to ensure that my property stays inside the confines of my spaces, and that if it does not I can track every single item.
I fear for the 99% of hosts, that expect and assume AirBnB will protect them in the case of theft, property damage, hacked accounts, identity theft, or fraud - because I have experienced first hand that they absolutely will not.
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