Fake holiday rental listings — sometimes copied from genuine properties, sometimes advertised on platforms entirely outside recognised booking sites — leave travellers arriving to find no booking exists, often too late in their trip planning to easily recover.
Fake listings, often with photos taken from genuine properties elsewhere, are posted on booking platforms or standalone websites. The "owner" pressures the traveller to pay directly rather than through the platform, sometimes offering a discount for doing so — the exact opposite of what a legitimate host would need to do.
Always pay through the official booking platform, never directly to a personal account.
Check the property's reviews carefully, and be wary of listings with no reviews at all, especially for a property claiming years of hosting history.
Reverse image search the property photos to check they aren't copied from another, unrelated listing.
Be cautious of prices significantly below comparable properties in the same area.
If you've been scammed, report the listing to the platform immediately and contact your bank if payment was made outside the platform's protected system. Report to Report Fraud at reportfraud.police.uk.
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For rentals booked through a UK-registered company, check their official status live before paying.
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