(Thechieftainspear) – A Rosemead resident is raising alarms after her home was fraudulently listed for rent on a major travel website, leading to uninvited visitors showing up at her doorstep.
Alexis Cavish discovered that her house had been posted on Booking.com as a short-term rental, even though she has never listed it herself. While the listing used her correct address, the photos belonged to a different property.
“We never rented out our home on Booking.com,” Cavish said. “But in the past day, two groups of people came by, showing me their booking confirmations, thinking they had secured my house.”
Cavish emphasized that she does not have an account with Booking.com and has no plans to rent her property. Despite this, strangers have arrived expecting to stay overnight, forcing her to turn them away.
“It’s concerning, especially since I have children and a playground here,” she added. “I don’t want unknown people wandering around my home.”
The scam listing offered the home for nearly $400 a night. Cavish expressed frustration with the platform’s lack of verification.
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“Why doesn’t the site require proof of ownership before allowing someone to list a property?” she questioned. “It feels like they’re not doing enough to prevent scams.”
Consumer expert David Lazarus from KTLA explained that short-term rental scams like this are becoming more frequent on popular platforms such as Airbnb and Booking.com.
“These scams have become so widespread they have their own name,” Lazarus said. “Automated listings often bypass human review, making it easier for scammers to post fake rentals.”
Lazarus advises renters to keep all communication and payments strictly within the rental platform to avoid falling victim.
“Never pay through third-party apps like Zelle, Venmo, or cryptocurrency,” he warned. “Always complete transactions through the website.”
Additionally, Lazarus suggests verifying the property by searching the address on Google Maps to confirm it matches the photos and description provided in the listing.
For Alexis Cavish and others, this experience serves as a cautionary tale about the risks of online rental fraud and the need for better safeguards on travel websites.
