In the United States, a scammer defrauded tourists out of $7.5 million through the Airbnb platform

Even when using official platforms, you can still fall victim to fraud. This is exactly what happened with the Airbnb rental service. An American defrauded tourists of more than seven million US dollars by employing a double-booking scheme and fake reviews.

The incident took place between 2018 and 2019, but it's only now that the police have begun discussing it, following the arrest of the criminal. This was reported by The Independent.

The man, Shrey Goel, along with his accomplices, utilized various aliases to rent out properties to clients. Subsequently, they refused to refund clients when they canceled their bookings. This scheme encompassed nearly 100 properties across different states in America, allowing the group of fraudsters to secure over 10 thousand bookings through the Airbnb service.

The modus operandi involved renting out the same property multiple times to different clients and then prioritizing the one willing to pay the highest amount. For the others, they concocted various reasons for refusal, never refunding the money.

To build trust, Shrey employed fake reviews and created fictitious owners and non-existent real estate properties. He would then inform Airbnb that the guest was staying in the property, preventing customers from claiming a full refund.

Although this occurred in 2018-2019, the details have only recently emerged. The fraudster was exposed by journalists; Vice media company launched an investigation after one of its journalists grew suspicious of him. This investigation became the subject of a story, which went viral upon airing. Subsequently, the FBI contacted the journalists, and Airbnb pledged to scrutinize all of the suspect's accounts and delete them.

Ultimately, Shrey Goel was arrested and released on bail on December 28, 2023. A court date has yet to be set, as the case is still under investigation. He faces charges of wire fraud and identity theft.