Booking.com is warning consumers that Artificial Intelligence (AI) is causing a surge in travel scams.
Booking.com Internet Safety Boss, Marnie Wilking, said there had been a 500-900% increase in online accommodation scams in the last 18 months, reports BBC.
“Of course, we’ve had phishing since the dawn of email, but the uptick started shortly after ChatGPT got launched,” she explained. She added that the attackers were definitely using AI to mimic emails from reputable platforms such as Booking.com.
Aggregators such as Booking.com and Airbnb are particularly prone to phishing scams, because they allow people to list their own properties. Once a buyer has paid money for accommodation, these scammers disappear.
Speaking at the Collision Technology Conference in Toronto, Wilking said the scams were getting harder to detect because scammers used AI to write in multiple languages with correct grammar and were able to mimic the style of reputable companies.
Wilking called on hotels and travellers to use additional security checks to combat these scams.
On the other hand, she said AI technology was also being used to rapidly remove fake accommodation from Booking.com.
