Have you booked travel with booking.com recently? Our Fraud Department is seeing an uptick in reports of fraudulent phishing emails from scammers posing as Booking.com representatives. The emails request personal information or claim that a refund is due for a recent purchase.
In one reported scenario, a Booking.com customer described making a transaction from the booking site and shortly after received an email claiming to be from the company. In the email, it was stated that the customer was charged twice for a recent transaction and was instructed to call the phone number in the email to talk to a representative. While following instructions on how to receive a refund, the victim was asked to download an application that allowed the scammer remote access to their mobile device and to her financial accounts.
It’s important to be cautious of unsolicited emails or calls, even from a company you may have done business with. Always verify communications by calling the company directly with the phone number on their official website, not the contact information provided in the email. Make sure to never download an application to your mobile device in response to refund request and be wary of anyone asking for money to be wired or paid by gift cards.
Visit the Federal Trade Commission website at consumer.ftc.gov/articles/how-recognize-and-avoid-phishing-scams to learn more about phishing scams. Go to consumer.ftc.gov/articles/refund-recovery-scams to learn more about refund and recovery scams and steps you can take to protect personal information.
If you are a MVSB customer and you are concerned your personal or financial information was compromised in response to a phishing email, we’re here to help. Please call us directly at 800.922.6872 so that we can assist you with protecting your accounts and identity.
