Saturday, November 29, 2014

Avoid Bad or Fake Listings on Airbnb With a Reverse Google Search

Avoid Bad or Fake Listings on Airbnb With a Reverse Google Search

Airbnb rentals are generally safe, but an occasional scammer slips through the system. If you doubt a listing is legit, try doing a reverse image search on the pictures.

We've covered ways to avoid problems with Airbnb rentals before, but travel blog Skift recently brought up a more serious issue: fake rentals. A host creates a fake listing and steals the credit card info from the traveler. The renter has to scramble to find someplace to rent at the last minute, typically at a higher price.

This scam is the same type you'll see on Craigslist with people renting fake properties. Our tip to avoid those with a reverse image search also works here. When I tried this with some Airbnb listings, I didn't find a scam, but I did find the same listing on another rental-by-owner website. That listing had lots of negative reviews—so I avoided it. The reverse image search gave me other details about the property that wasn't included in the Airbnb description.

Airbnb's Next Big Challenge is Keeping the Scammers Away | Skift

Photo by OuiShare.

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