Booking.com has issued a warning about a dramatic rise in travel scams, attributing the increase to the use of artificial intelligence (AI).
Marnie Wilking, the company’s internet safety head, revealed that there has been an “anywhere from a 500 to a 900% increase” in such scams over the past 18 months.
Wilking highlighted a substantial surge in phishing attempts, where individuals are tricked into revealing their financial details. This increase has coincided with the advent of generative AI tools like ChatGPT.
“Phishing has been a persistent issue since the early days of email, but the spike started soon after ChatGPT was launched,” Wilking noted. “Attackers are using AI to craft emails that mimic legitimate messages far better than anything they’ve done before.”
Phishing scams typically involve sending convincing-looking booking links that deceive people into providing their card details. Websites like Booking.com and Airbnb are frequent targets because they allow users to list their own accommodations.
Once payment is made, scammers often disappear, leaving the victim without a place to stay. In some cases, they attempt to extract additional money through follow-up messages.
These scams, while not new, have evolved. Traditional signs of fraud, such as spelling mistakes and grammatical errors, are becoming less common as AI improves the sophistication of these attacks.