Crime Hackers swipe Booking.com, several Japanese hotels

The email contained a link that, once clicked, triggered a virus infection, allowing the hacker to obtain hotel IDs and passwords when accessing Booking.com fraudulently. The hackers then used these credentials to gain unauthorized access to Booking.com and sent messages to travellers pretending to be hotel staff. The messages falsely claim that "advance payment is required" and then force travellers to enter their credit card numbers and other details into a fake site that resembles Booking.com to steal the information. [...] The company did not reveal the global scale or estimated damages but said some of the 6.6 million facilities that use Booking.com were compromised.

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Fraudsters send emails to Japanese hotels to access their Booking.com management system. The email contains a link, which infects a computer once clicked. The hackers then steal the business's Booking.com credentials to send fraudulent payment requests to customers with reservations, telling guests their stay will be canceled without advance payment. Customers are then directed to input their card details into a fake website. In one case in August last year, a hotel became ensnared by the fraudsters when an employee clicked on a link of what the sender claimed was a list of a customer's daughter's food allergies. An official at the hotel said the imposters "exploited our desire to do our best to fulfill customers' wishes." Similar scam cases were first confirmed in Europe in 2022, with incidents later spreading to the United States, Asia and Oceania-based hotels.

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