Scam watch: 'I was conned on Booking.com'

Which? helps a Booking.com scam victim get their money back
Faye LipsonSenior researcher & writer

Faye was Headline Money Consumer Money Journalist of 2023 and a Wincott Award finalist in 2025. She's been investigating scams for nearly a decade.

Last year, I used Booking.com to book a villa in Malta. The owner asked me to pay €1,000 (around £860) via international bank transfer. There was no option to pay by card on the Booking.com platform, which I have previously done when booking hotel rooms on the site. 

Before I could travel, Booking.com contacted me to say it had cancelled my booking because the villa was no longer available (the villa owner had removed it from its site). Booking.com told me not to worry about what I had paid, as it would reimburse me.

I have now spent seven months trying to get the refund. Booking.com has accepted that the booking was fraudulent and keeps insisting it is doing all it can to assist me, but then refuses all of the documents that I’ve provided from my bank as proof of payment to the villa owner.

I believe I’m in this mess because of Booking.com. Please help me get my money back.

Name and address supplied

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Faye Lipson, Which? senior researcher, says: 

Where payment is offered via the platform, this is generally the safest option. By allowing accommodation owners to demand direct payment outside of the platform, I feel that Booking.com leaves users more vulnerable to fraud. If you’re asked to pay via international bank transfer, you’re especially vulnerable, as you’re not entitled to reimbursement under the mandatory reimbursement rules if it turns out to be fraud, unlike most domestic bank transfers. 

We contacted Booking.com about your case, and it promptly refunded you.

Booking.com said: ‘In instances such as this, we do ask the customer to provide certain documentation, which is part of our standard refund procedure; however, we are sorry for any delay that the customer has experienced, and we can confirm that the refund has now been processed.’

It added: ‘It is important for customers to note we would never ask them to share payment information via email, chat messages, text messages or phone. Should a customer have any concern about a payment message, we ask them to carefully check the payment policy details on the property listing page or the booking confirmation to be sure that the message is legitimate, or to contact our 24/7 customer service for support.’

key information

How to avoid holiday scams

  1. Fake accommodation listings are worryingly common. It's best to be wary of listings that primarily have lots of recent, glowingly positive reviews. 
  2. If a holiday seems too good to be true, then it probably is. Trust your instinct and do your research before you part with any money. 
  3. Carrying out a reverse image search (using TinEye or Google reverse image search) on the advertised images can help identify any images that may have been stolen.
  4. Beware of scammers using social media to peddle fake holidays. Which? has previously warned about fake glamping sites and dodgy holiday discount pages circulating on social media. 

Report scams to Report Fraud or call the police on 101 if you live in Scotland. If you've lost money to a scam, contact your bank using the number on the back of your card. 

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