Source: @jimtaysg on Instagram
A Singaporean man has warned others about a scam impersonating Booking.com after he nearly fell for a WhatsApp message claiming his upcoming hotel reservation required further confirmation.
Instagram user @jimtaysg shared his experience in a post on 12 Sept, urging people to be careful of messages appearing to come from the travel booking platform.
According to the Original Poster (OP), he had booked an upcoming trip through Booking.com and thought everything was confirmed.
However, he received a WhatsApp message claiming that a step in his reservation was still pending confirmation.
Source: @jimtaysg on Instagram
The message also warned that if he did not complete the required step, his reservation would be cancelled.
Thinking that he might have missed something, the OP clicked on the link in the message.
The link led him to a webpage that appeared to contain his actual booking details, including the dates and location.
This made the message appear more convincing. The webpage then prompted him to enter his credit card details.
However, the OP became suspicious and decided to check his Booking.com app directly.
He found that his reservation was fine and there were no outstanding issues or further steps required.
When he pasted the suspicious link into Safari, the browser flashed a warning that the website was “deceptive”.
Source: @jimtaysg on Instagram
The OP noted that the link seemed to open without any warning when done through WhatsApp, while Safari flagged the website.
“Please be careful,” he said, warning that scammers were becoming increasingly sophisticated.
Singaporean actor and comedian Chua Enlai shared that he also received the same message, and that his hotel had gotten in touch with him.
Source: Instagram
An Instagram user who was also a target speculated that the booking platform may “have a massive data leak”.
Source: Instagram
Another netizen also shared that the same thing happened to them, except it was for Agoda instead of Booking.com.
Source: Instagram
Speaking to MS News, the OP, Jim Tay, who is in his 30s, said the incident happened on the evening of 11 Sept.
“I was immediately concerned as the trip was coming up soon, and I thought something must have messed up,” Mr Tay, who works in the property industry, said.
When asked what made him suspicious, he said the phone number had a foreign country code (+44).
“Frankly, if that had been pre-filled, I might have fallen for it,” Mr Tay said.
Source: @jimtaysg on Instagram
He also told MS News that he did not highlight the incident to Booking.com. However, they reached out to him instead, probably due to the virality of his post.
“They said I contacted them through TikTok and asked me to verify,” Mr Tay said. “It’s funny and I wondered if it was another scam.”
“For the record, I did not contact them through TikTok at all,” he said.
In response to MS News’ queries, Booking.com said they are aware of phishing attempts targeting travellers via WhatsApp, where cybercriminals impersonate them and other accommodation partners.
“We take the protection of consumer data very seriously at Booking.com. These scams remain an ongoing challenge and are not unique to the travel industry,” a Booking.com spokesperson said.
They added: “We are glad that the customer recognised the warning signs and did not share his credit card details.
Booking.com stressed that they will never ask customers to provide credit card details through text, WhatsApp, or email.
Customers who receive a suspicious payment message should verify their booking through the Booking.com app, check the property’s payment policy, or contact Booking.com’s 24/7 customer service team for assistance.
Also read: Woman says travel agency in S’pore demands ‘exorbitant tips’ of S$12/day per person for China trip
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Featured image adapted from @jimtaysg on Instagram.