Heads up. I have been conned by a scammer.
I work in IT and I also work security related activity. I see scams on a daily basis.
Any time someone tries to pay outside Airbnb, is rejected.
However, they are getting really good at it.
Today I was contacted by a guest who described having a problem. He asked me how to get to my house. I didn't suspect anything because the conversation was extremely friendly and seemed natural.
I told him that it depends where he was. He continued the lie and said to me he was in the embassy of Germany and he told me the street. He looked for the address in Google.
Next thing I unaware of what's going on, give the address to him when explaining how to get to the house. I fell in the trap, because he used a common question: what is a nearest place that is known that I can use to get directions to your place?
As he used the common way of asking things used by legit guests, I disconnect from my senses and replied to him. I totally forgot he didn't book. I just pre approved him. Since I had such a mess of guests lately I wasn't sure if he acted confired the booking.
Many guests have cancelled lately or made changes, and I completely lost the control of who is really coming or not. Everything because of trying to stick to the instant booking policy which airbnb encourages.
When the guy was in the door of my house, he rang the bell several times.
When he saw me, he was extremely nice and chatty. He was chatty from the very beginning, asking for help and instructions.
I let him in my house. He wanted to sit down and chat. He started complaining about losing his wallet and having a hard day.
Then suddenly felt like something was really wrong. He was asking me about my profession, just before he was telling me about his supposed profession.
I realised he died approve the booking and I panicked inside me. However, he kept the lie going. He insisted that he couldn't pay and that he was willing to pay me in cash.
He asked me if I had any problem with this. He could pay me with Airbnb when he got his wallet back. He kept ellaborating even more the lie with other stories.
I finally told him that it was fine, I was just confused as I was having this experience for the first time.
He told me he had to get something to eat. I *gave him* the key. When he was about to leave, he asked me to come with him to the supermarket.
I first said yes, as he asked it in a very appealing way. But then I told him that I prefered to stay at home. At this point I realised I was scared.
I went to the entrance to explain to him how to get to the supermarket. It was cold and dark outside. He kept delaying his visit until the evening.
In the entrance, he said with a sweet voice and a angel face to me: are you sure about this? I can go to a hotel otherwise, there's no problem.
I told him it was fine and closed the account. I Inn called airbnb to ask if this was right, as he was so convincing, he already played with my mind I was confused about the whole thing.
Fortunately, they replied quickly and even though the agent said things in a very dull tone, she said enough to confirm that I was being scammed.
I them quickly put on my shoes and thought what the f- I could do?? They didn't tell me about calling the police or anything, just that "Airbnb is not responsible for anything happening outside the booking". For God's sake, I had a criminal in my house and that's all I got for a reply.
I put on my coat, as it was freezing outside and took his bag, he left a small bag in the bedroom.
I took my mobile phone and dialed the emergency number.
I closed the door and waited for him outside, but a bit farther from the house because there were more chances to meet people in the street. However, the street looked quite empty at that time, around 9 pm.
I didn't want to be too far away from the house though. He could come from a different direction. If he really went to the supermarket, he should come from that direction.
My heart was bumping like 1k per min. I thought that maybe he was coming over quite late? What I would do?
I kept looking to both sides. Suddenly, I spotted him coming back from the opposite direction I told him it was the supermarket.
I ran towards the house, putting my phone inside the pocket, and holding that bag.
I stood in front of the door and I said to him that I was sorry, and asked him to give the key back to me. He took the key but when I held the key, he pushed back. I looked at him really scared and shocked.
He then released the key and I put in my pocket. I said: here is your bag.
He tried one more time. He looked at me with a sad face like an angel that has done nothing wrong in his life, and asked: why?
I was trying to contain my real expression until then. I looked at him with a deep stare and told him that all this was illegal.
He looked down for a second. I wasn't sure what was happening next. He could have forced me into my house and who knows. I got really, really scared in that moment and I feared the worst was about to happen.
He took the bag after a few seconds and walked away slowly. He turned around and asked: is everyone in there? Looking inside his bag. "Yes, I didn't touch anything"- I said to him.
I turned around to put the key in the lock and open the door to get in, but suddenly realised that I wasn't watched him for a couple of seconds. I turned around quickly again, and he disappeared. I opened the door quickly and got in, while looking all the time next to me. There was a big van parked in front of the house and I couldn't see properly.
I got in and locked the door.
My phone rang and it was Airbnb. They were calling back because of my previous call. I appreciate they called me back, however, the agent only repeated with a dull voice the same again like s voice mail: Airbnb is not responsible for anything that happens if there is no booking, and wanted to hang up really quickly.
I didn't know what to do. I felt like calling the police. This guy is *very* dangerous. He is a con artist and professional scammer.
However, since involving the police sometimes is not helpful at all, as they may even say there's nothing to do, or that it was even my fault.. I am not sure what to do next, but I just feel like I am not able to process yet all this and I am shocked.
Not to mention that the first thing I've done is disabling this **bleep** thing called "instant booking". Until there's more security features for hosts, I won't enable this again.
I woke up in the middle of the night jumping scared of a noise. I am still really worried about this and my future guests.