SINGAPORE - At least $8,800 has been lost through phishing scams related to the booking of hotel rooms via Booking.com since the start of 2023.

The police said on Monday they have observed a trend of phishing scams where victims had made room reservations via the online booking platform, with at least five reports made in 2023.

After making such reservations, victims would receive a call or message via WhatsApp from scammers posing as hotel representatives. They would request that the victims provide personal details through a link to confirm the reservation.

Upon clicking on the link, the victims would be redirected to fraudulent websites to key in personal and banking details such as one-time passwords, passwords or credit card numbers.

In some cases, these websites would prompt the victims to pay to confirm the reservation.

Victims would realise they had been scammed only when they contacted Booking.com or the hotel, or when they discovered unauthorised transactions on their bank accounts or credit cards.

In a statement, a Booking.com spokesman said security and data protection is a priority for the portal.

The spokesman said: “We have been made aware that some accommodation partners were targeted by phishing e-mails, which compromised their systems.

“While the security breach was not on Booking.com, we know that the accounts of some of our accommodation partners were affected. These accounts were quickly blocked by Booking.com to help reduce the risk, and our teams are actively supporting these accommodation partners to ensure they can quickly and safely resume with their listings on our platform.”

The spokesman for the online travel agency, which is based in the Netherlands, added that its security teams will continue to investigate the issue.

The police have these tips on how to protect against such scams:

• Verify the information with hotels through official contact details listed on their webpages.
• Do not click on links in unsolicited messages and look out for telltale signs of a phishing website.
• Never disclose personal or Internet banking details and one-time passwords to anyone.
• Report any fraudulent transactions to your bank immediately.

Those who have any information related to such crimes may call the police hotline on 1800-255-0000 or submit information online at www.police.gov.sg/iwitness

Visit www.scamalert.sg or call the Anti-Scam Hotline on 1800-722-6688 for more information on scams.