Holiday Rental Scams: How to Book Without Getting Caught Out

A villa at a friendly price, a charming owner, a deposit to “block the dates”: holiday rentals are a favourite target for scammers, because payment happens weeks before the stay and the fraud is often discovered on arrival, suitcase in hand. Here is how these scams work and how to book a place with minimal risk.

The most common scams

• The phantom property. The listing shows a home that does not belong to the “owner” or does not exist. The photos are copied from another listing or a decoration site.
• The owner abroad. He is “travelling”, cannot show the property and offers to post the keys once the deposit is paid.
• Payment off the platform. After first contact on the site, you are invited to continue on WhatsApp or by email “to avoid fees” and asked for a bank transfer.
• The fake platform message. You receive a message or email that appears to come from the booking platform, saying your reservation is “pending” or your payment “failed”, with a link to an imitation payment page.
• The double-booked home. A real property is offered to several holidaymakers at once, or by someone who does not own it.
• The fake agency. A professional-looking site with no legal existence that collects deposits and security payments.

Warning signs

1. A price well below the market for the area and period. Compare with similar homes.
2. Pressure to book fast: “lots of requests”, “I need the deposit today”.
3. A refusal to show the place, in person or by video, or constant excuses for not speaking by phone.
4. A request for payment by bank transfer, money order, prepaid cards or crypto, especially to a foreign account.
5. A conversation that leaves the platform in the first exchanges.
6. Template-like messages or answers that do not address your specific questions.
7. No reviews on the listing or profile, or recent, vague, glowing ones.

Checks to make before paying

• Search the photos. Run a reverse image search (Google Lens or similar): if the images appear in several listings, or on a real-estate site under another address, that is a bad sign.
• Check the address. Find it on an online map, look at street view, and compare with the photos (surroundings, balcony, pool, view).
• Ask for a video call. A genuine host can show you the rooms and the neighbourhood live and answer precise questions.
• Check the profile. Account age, identity verified by the platform, reviews from former guests, number of properties.
• Look for a registration number. In many places, a short-term rental must be registered and display its number in the listing. Its absence is not proof of a scam, but it deserves a check.
• Require a written contract stating the full address, dates, price, deposit, security deposit and cancellation terms.
• Check agencies. A professional renter must be identifiable: see How to Check a Company Before You Order.

Paying with less risk

The principle is simple: never leave the platform. Major booking platforms hold the payment for a time and release it to the host only after your arrival, which protects you. As soon as someone suggests paying elsewhere, you lose that protection. If you pay an agency or owner directly, prefer a card, which leaves more room for a dispute than a bank transfer, and avoid any payment to an account in a country unconnected with the property.

Be careful with a message that asks you to “confirm” payment via a link: open the platform's site or app yourself, and check whether the request appears in your official inbox. A message that appears only by email or on WhatsApp, with a link, is suspect.

If you have already paid a deposit

1. Warn your bank at once and ask about disputing the payment or recalling the funds.
2. Report the listing and profile to the platform and to your national consumer authority.
3. Keep screenshots of the listing, messages, payment receipts and the beneficiary's account details.
4. File a police report with this evidence.
5. For the detailed steps, see What to Do After an Online Scam.

Arrived with no accommodation? Keep every receipt for emergency costs: they can support the police report and any refund claims.