According to CNN Portugal, the hacker established direct contact with hundreds of customers between 12 and 16 June, leaving the hotel without being able to access the Booking platform for four days.
The hotel's owners initially thought it was a simple access failure due to site maintenance.
The secret to the success of the hacker was to list the price of the rooms all at €40 per night; contrary to the usual 200 to 300 euros. This ploy saw many people take up the fake offer, with over 1,000 bookings being made in just four days.
The hacker sent a payment link to customers, diverting all the money away from the hotel's owners. As for the reservations, they were all fictitious, leading to those who thought they had booked a room to bombard the hotel with complaints.
Booking.com offer 2-factor authentication - the criminals could not have logged in without having the registered telephone number to confirm identity. Property owners were lazy, indolent, and thus easily robbed along with the somewhat deluded unlikely-bargain seeking punters out on the internet.
By Portugal Enthusiast from Algarve on 07 Jul 2022, 15:27