← All situations Urgent — act now
I'm booking a stay or renting a flat and it looks like a scam. What do I do?
First, breathe. The “reconfirm your payment on Booking” scam fools people precisely because the message arrives through the real app — but no serious hotel asks you to re-enter your card details through a link so you don’t lose your booking. And for flats, the rule is simple: the money only leaves after you’ve seen the place.
First steps, right now
- Don't re-enter your card details through a link received by message, email or WhatsApp, even if it looks like it's from Booking or from the host. Booking.com never asks for your card details via WhatsApp, SMS or phone — the message comes from a hotel's account that has been hacked.
- Check directly, yourself: open the official app or website on your own (not through the link in the message) and see whether the booking really requires anything. Call the property on the official number from its website.
- For a flat to rent: don't send a deposit or rent before seeing the place in person (or, at the very least, on a credible video call).
- If you already entered your card details, call the bank on the number on the card and block it.
- If you paid by bank transfer, gather the evidence, ask your bank for a payment recall, and report it on the platform, to ANPC (Romania's consumer protection authority) and to the police.
What NOT to do
- Never pay outside the platform by direct bank transfer or crypto, no matter how convincing the explanation is.
- Don't re-enter your card details through a link, no matter how official the message "from Booking" looks.
- Don't send money for a flat you haven't seen.
How to spot it next time
- A message (through the Booking chat, email or WhatsApp) asks you to "reconfirm your payment" or to enter your card details again, otherwise "the booking will be cancelled". The time pressure is the tell — the property's account has been hacked, and the message contains real details of your booking.
- The host asks for payment in advance by direct bank transfer, outside the platform.
- A price far too low for the area or the season, plus "I have other people interested, decide quickly".
- The landlord refuses a viewing or a video call and asks for a deposit + first month's rent before you've seen the place.
- The photos in the listing also appear in other listings (check with a reverse image search, or look up the address on Google Maps / Street View).
- The listing says nothing about paying in advance, but suddenly you're asked for a deposit "to lock in" the stay — an almost certain sign of a scam (a rule stated by Booking itself).
This guide is meant to help you act fast. It does not replace official instructions from your bank, the police or the authorities. When in doubt, call the numbers above.