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Booking.com under investigation by EU regulators over fake listings and scams. European Commission calls accommodation website's approach to fraudulent listings and phishing scams as 'absolutely substandard' EU regulators have opened an investigation into Booking.com, alleging that the accommodation website has not done enough to protect consumers from fake listings and scams. The European Commission, which regulates the world's biggest tech companies operating in the EU, said Booking.com may have breached the EU's Digital Services Act (DSA) with its "absolutely substandard" approach to tackling fraudulent listings and phishing scams, where criminals impersonate a third party to trick people to hand over money. A commission official said Booking.com should be carrying out risk assessments and acting to prevent fraud as required under the DSA. "We feel that what they have done is absolutely substandard," said the official. "Although they take measures, they could go much further and they could have much more solid systems to prevent fraud." EU officials will also investigate whether Booking.com has breached advertising transparency rules, by potentially not making clear to users that some accommodation providers had paid to make their business more visible on the website. Under the EU's DSA, which aims to protect people from harmful and illegal internet content, a company could be fined 6% of its worldwide annual turnover. The commission said that opening the investigation did not prejudge the outcome. Booking.com, which is headquartered in Amsterdam and claims to have 28m accommodation listings, said it was engaging constructively with the commission. "Security, trust and the protection of personal information are top priorities at Booking.com," a company spokesperson said. "We remain committed to working with relevant governments, regulators, law enforcement and industry partners to combat cybercrime and online fraud, and protect travellers and partners." The investigation comes after researchers at the UK consumer group Which? exposed security lapses at Booking.com when they used the site to set up - and accept payment for - a fake offer to stay at 10 Downing Street. EU officials are investigating similar scams, with less high-profile addresses, where consumers thought they had booked a stay, only to find on arrival at a property that it had been fraudulently listed on Booking.com. Officials are also assessing a second category of scams, dubbed "reservation hijacks" where scammers use hacked data to impersonate an accommodation provider. Criminals send WhatsApp messages and have even used Booking.com's own platform to request payments from Booking.com's customers, supposedly to secure a stay. Cases seen by Guardian Money in 2025 involved the theft of several hundred pounds. EU officials will examine whether the company has sufficient safeguards to prevent data from being misused. The Dutch consumer association Consumentenbond said it had received 200 reports of scams costing people €65,000 that involved Booking.com in 2025, up from 89 reports worth €25,000 the previous year. These cases were "just the tip of the iceberg", it said, as many victims would not report to its fraud helpdesk. Booking.com told the BBC in 2024 it had seen a 500 to 900% increase in scams in the previous 18 months, driven by generative AI tools that enable fraudsters to create very realistic-looking fake emails and internet booking links. Agustín Reyna, director general of the pan-European consumer group BEUC, said: "It is positive to see the European Commission investigating Booking.com for failing to meet EU digital rules. This is a systemic problem." Henna Virkkunen, the commission's lead official on tech policy, said: "Europeans should be able to book their holidays without fear of being scammed. The Digital Services Act sets clear responsibilities on platforms to address these risks, and we must ensure that the leading booking platform in Europe takes those responsibilities seriously."

EU investigation into Booking.com over fake ads and phishing. The European Commission is going to investigate whether Booking.com has violated the Digital Services Act (DSA) by not doing enough against fake ads and phishing. The European law obliges online platforms to combat illegal content. According to the European Commission, 66 percent of all online hotel reservations in Europe are made via Booking.com. At the same time, Booking reports a five-hundredfold increase in scams between 2022 and 2024. "Europeans must be able to book their holiday without having to fear being scammed," says Henna Virkkunen, the EU commissioner responsible for technological sovereignty, security and democracy. "The DSA makes clear what platforms' responsibilities are for addressing these risks, and we must ensure that the leading booking platform in Europe takes that responsibility seriously," said Virkkunen. Risks of illegal advertisements. The European Commission's investigation focuses, among other things, on the question of whether Booking.com has sufficiently mapped the risks of illegal advertisements. The European Commission is also examining whether the platform has taken effective measures to limit risks to users, including by removing fake advertisements. In addition, the European Commission wants to clarify whether Booking has properly mapped the risks of phishing, in which criminals try to steal data or money, for users. Another investigative question is whether the platform does enough to prevent data from being misused for phishing. Accommodation providers can pay Booking.com to get a higher place in the search results, but this must then state that it is an advertisement. The Commission is checking whether this is the case. Many more people affected. In the first half of 2026, almost ten times as many people as a year earlier were scammed via booking platforms, according to figures from Fraudehelpdesk. In more than 90 percent of the 1,072 cases, it involved phishing via Booking.com. In many cases, criminals hack a landlord's account or place a fake advertisement for which they use photos of existing accommodations on other booking platforms. After that, the holidaymakers receive a payment request via a fake website. The total amount of damage from scams via Booking.com has also risen sharply. Last year it was more than 75,000 euros; in the first half of this year the counter already stood at more than 82,000 euros, Nieuwsuur wrote. Make NOS your preferred source in Google. With a new Google feature, you can now decide for yourself which sources you see first when you search. That way you never miss the latest news from NOS.

EU investigates Booking.com over fraud cases. The European Commission is investigating the travel portal Booking.com over possible violations of consumer protection rules. 21.10.2026 03:25 The Booking.com platform is suspected, among other things, of not having done enough against fraudsters on the platform, according to a statement from the Brussels authority. This concerns, according to the statement, for example fake accommodation listings, identity fraud and other scams to the detriment of consumers. Specifically, the EU Commission wants to examine whether the online portal, which has its company headquarters in the Netherlands, is making sufficient efforts to remove these non-compliant listings. Number of fraud attempts up 500 percent. The investigations come at a time when consumer advocates are warning of a growing number of online fraud cases. Booking.com itself reported a 500 percent increase in fraud cases on its platform worldwide, Commission officials said. In the first half of 2026, according to the statement, 1,072 fraud reports were received, leading to losses of 82,000 euros. This corresponded to a tenfold increase compared with the previous year, according to the EU Commission. The investigations are also focusing on phishing attempts on the booking platform. Phishing is one of the most common fraud scams on the internet. Cybercriminals try to obtain sensitive data such as passwords or bank information by responding to fake messages. Does Booking.com adequately protect sensitive data? In its investigation against Booking.com, the EU Commission is examining how the platform passes booking and guest data to accommodation providers and how messaging on the platform works. In particular, it is to be examined whether the company has taken sufficient security precautions to prevent users' data from being misused. The Brussels authority said that the opening of proceedings did not yet say anything about whether Booking.com had actually violated applicable EU rules. "Europeans should be able to book their holidays without having to fear fraud," said EU digital commissioner Henna Virkkunen. The Brussels internet watchdogs also want to take a closer look at how transparently Booking.com handles paid advertising. Specifically, this concerns which search results appear higher up on the booking platform for an extra charge and whether these are clearly marked as advertising. Accommodation providers could make their offers more visible in Booking.com's search results by paying a higher commission, the EU Commission said. Users should be able to clearly recognize that these "highlighted offers" are in fact advertising. According to Brussels, consumers must also have sufficient information about how they can change the advertising settings themselves. Brussels can impose fines. The basis for the EU Commission's proceedings is the Digital Services Act (DSA). The DSA is intended to be the EU's sharp sword against large online platforms and has applied since February 2024. The Brussels internet watchdogs have already opened numerous proceedings under the law, for example against TikTok, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat or large porn platforms. The EU Commission has already imposed millions in fines on Elon Musk's social network X and the online retailers Temu and AliExpress because, in Brussels' view, the companies did not comply with the rules despite warnings.