Booking.com warns of 900 percent increase in travel scams

Booking.com warns of up to 900 percent increase in travel scams. The site announced this increase during a technology conference in Canada this week.

He writes BBC.

A significant increase

Marnie Wilking, head of digital security at Booking.com, said this week that travel fraud has increased dramatically. The 900 percent increase has only been observed in the past 18 months.

The reason must be artificial intelligence.

While fraud is often detected due to typing errors or other details, AI is able to generate texts with fewer errors and realistic images. This makes fraud attempts more credible and difficult to detect.

This phenomenon is called phishing.

Fraud attempts are often made via email. The traveler is sent fake booking links where card details and other vulnerable information are left out.

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Wilking sees a link between AI and credible fraud attempts.

Of course, we've had phishing since the inception of email, but the increase began shortly after ChatGPT was launched, Wilking says.

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Sizes

Wilking highlights booking sites like Booking.com and Airbnb as places where fraud attempts are widespread.

First and foremost, Wilking believes that requesting websites should use two-factor authorization. For example, a password and code sent via phone number may be required to log in.

Additionally, it warns consumers not to click on sent links without fully checking what they lead to first.

Wilking also highlights credit cards as an extra layer of security in the event of financial fraud.

However, AI as a tool is not only harmful. Booking.com also uses the same AI to detect fake hotel ads on the site.