Renter Found Out Their Apartment Is Listed On Vrbo When Someone Showed Up At Their Door For A '2 Night Stay'
"I have never and will never list my apartment on any site such as VRBO."
Victoria Labadie | Shutterstock These days, vacation rentals through companies like Vrbo and Airbnb are increasingly popular. Unfortunately, this has opened the door for more scams to take place.
A renter found out their apartment was fraudulently listed on Vrbo when a guest showed up at their door for a '2-night stay.'
The apartment owner shared their story on Reddit, explaining how they discovered their apartment was listed on the site without their knowledge.
“This morning, someone showed up at my apartment door claiming to have booked my apartment for a two-night stay,” they wrote. “I was extremely confused as I have never and will never list my apartment on any site such as Vrbo, Airbnb, etc.”
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The guest was equally unsure of what to do in the situation. “He was just as confused as he had been charged $700 for his two-night stay and even showed me the confirmation he received from Vrbo,” they explained. “Obviously, I turned him away and called Vrbo.”
The information the renter got from Vrbo did little to ease their concerns.
“The rep from Vrbo said there is a listing for my address but they were unable to tell me the name of the person who listed my address [or] tell me what form of verification this person used to list my apartment,” they shared.
The story got even stranger from there.
“I was told to send Vrbo pictures to see if they match the photos on the listing (not sure how or why this matters because it’s a fake listing) and that they would ‘elevate my case to the team,’” they stated. “I’m waiting for them to contact me again and help resolve this issue, but I’m just so confused how this could have happened.”
What the renter had to go through to get Vrbo to take action felt entirely unnecessary. “I’m aware that there [are] plenty of scams out there, but this seems like it should not happen and should be easily taken down by me reporting it; however, it seems I’m going to have to fight to get this fake listing taken down,” they wrote.
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While the renter waits for Vrbo to make things right, they are understandably worried about their safety.
“It’s an extreme safety concern and invasion of privacy to have people showing up at my door expecting to stay here,” they added. “Luckily, the person today was very rational and understood that they were likely scammed, but if the wrong person shows up and is convinced they have a right to stay in my apartment … that could be extremely ugly.”
It seems like some kind of phishing scam took place.
There is very little information available regarding what to do in these circumstances. This, hopefully, means that it is not a common occurrence.
Vrbo does mention different types of scams on their website. They described phishing as “a widespread scam that involves impersonating someone or assuming a false identity online." They use fake accounts, profiles, ads, and emails to trick victims into sending personal information or money.
What happened to this Reddit poster was likely a phishing scam. After all, the renter was impersonated, and the scammer used fake information to get their would-be guest to send them money.
What was strange was the use of the actual Vrbo website.
This situation seems like it would fit the description of a phishing scam perfectly, except it appeared that the real Vrbo website was used.
By all accounts, it looked like the renter’s apartment was actually listed on Vrbo, not on a scam website. Because of this, what needs to be done to rectify the problem is much less clear-cut.
Several commenters on the post recommended that the apartment owner contact authorities, and doing so might be for the best.
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer for YourTango who covers entertainment, news, and human interest topics.