If those unspeakable men (or perhaps just one man - the other being an invention) have raised an issue with Stripe requiring a repayment of money, then this could lead to the naming of a bank account where money should be repaid, and in turn to the name and address of the owner of that account.
AndrewH wrote:
If those unspeakable men (or perhaps just one man - the other being an invention) have raised an issue with Stripe requiring a repayment of money, then this could lead to the naming of a bank account where money should be repaid, and in turn to the name and address of the owner of that account.
I expect the card details used were stolen and knowing the name and address of the card owner is of no use.
Looking at Stripe's website, they don't insist on 3-D secure or Verified to Visa instead relying on the CSV and address validation. I'm sure there are places on the dark web where these stolen card details are readily available. If you have your own merchant card account, the card issuer will take the hit for "stolen cards" if the card has been validated using 3-D secure.
newtimber wrote:I expect the card details used were stolen and knowing the name and address of the card owner is of no use.
newtimber, it wasn't the name and address of a cardholder (probably a stolen card as you say) which I was thinking of. It was police entrapment I had in mind with the cooperation of Stripe. If the only way of receiving a "repayment" from Stripe was through a bank account, a greedy criminal might just fall for it and open one. No such "repayment" would be made, of course.
In my own experience, I have known the police obtaining even a murder confession using a sting operation.
Thanks for the replies. Sorry I havent been back on but it has been very stressful.
it appears the card was fraudulent - i can see now from stripe they tried 3 cards before one worked. I checked it when it went through but its only days later that the card owner says to hios bank - whats this I didnt book accommodation. A US bank card was used.
Yes I know the would be tenants could be in on it. But I cant see how that would work. If they were working for the fraudsters then all that would be gained would be the payout I offered - surely too little for all that effort. Much easier to sublet it as they did. In fact the Romanians have also been to the police so I really don think they are in on it. They must be very good actors if so. They were clearly devasted.
It was me who offered the bung as a desperate measure to ensure they could move on and not leave me with a bigger headache. They did indeed move on the day and time they said and cleaned the place before they left. I really dont think they were in on it.
Police so far not been in touch after initial statement. I think they dont have enough resources to follow this through.
They moved everything out that made it look like a holiday let - I have found a lot of stuff in the loft. Bizarrely the only thing missing is my router.
I will need to have more stringent checks and put it down to experience. its cost over a grand but I have my flat back and the bookings that are currently booked dont need cancelling which would have been a lot of money.
I had a new visitor today and he doesnt suspect a thing - we worked so hard to get it back and ready for his visit. (he is a repeat visitor so I m safe - for now!)
So sorry you’ve been through that, but please, if you haven’t already, change the locks too. The scammers can find your calendar and might try the same thing again if they know it’s empty!
I had a close call once when someone tried to book a weekend and I found him on twitter telling all his ‘crew’ that he’d found a great crib for their next party! Now that the listing sites are hiding things like email addresses, I live in dread of it happening again and not being able to suss it out beforehand!
Update-
Re more stringent checks.
I guess if the booking comes via airbnb or Homeaway then the id checks have already been done and there is more chance of things not going wrong? This booking was direct from my own website so I hope to encourage future guests who book direct to show me photo id when they arrive.
Re Stripe - Unlikely I will recover the disputed payment and they are a necessary payment provider when you need payments made by card so I dont think there is much i can do there.
Police now involved a bit more. The fraudster seems to have left a phone behind (burner of course) in a local hotel he stayed in (so probably never stayed overnight in my place). He/they didnt pay hotel bill of £600 so now police have the phone and have a bit more to go on so have given it a crime reference - hooray. Early days in their investigation but we have given them a statement and will continue to co operate in a bid that they catch them. The phone was actually retrieved by the Romanian couple who had been ringing it and someone at the hotel answered it so they went to hotel and somehow got the phone and handed it in to police. They were genuinely pleased that they had managed this and are thinking that they may eventually get their cash back but of course its unlikely.
But hopefully their actions suggest they were not a part of this scam.
Did I say that I found all the missing items (except for the router) in the apartment loft.
So lock changed and I hope time to learn from it and move on
Re Stripe - Unlikely I will recover the disputed payment and they are a necessary payment provider when you need payments made by card so I dont think there is much i can do there.
There are other providers I'm sure that do provide more checks. If you have a merchant account yourself for example, you can protect yourself against most card fraud where the card has been stolen.
I guess if the booking comes via airbnb or Homeaway then the id checks have already been done and there is more chance of things not going wrong?
Are you under the impression that HA check all the prospective guests before they send you an anonomous request. Ive never heard that one before. They certainly have never tried to appease my displeasure at having to accept a reservation request within 24 hours or get dropped down the viewing list as I haven't a clue who Im accepting to stay in my property. That's a new one
I'm firmly with jafa on this one.
Relying on an OTA to security check for you? They want a booking, any booking, anonymous or otherwise & they want it right now, regardless. You don't seriously think they care who from? If things do go wrong it will be strictly your problem (smallprint, blah, blah, blah) & I fear that with us all being led by the nose, incidents such as the OP has suffered may well increase & develop.
This time next year Rodney, we'll be millionaires.
I remember reading about this case. The fraudster, who was caught in the act and arrested, had an accomplice waiting for her in a car down in the street. He drove off when he realized things had gone badly wrong, never to be traced.
apexblue wrote:Disagree Coys. ABB and OD recently cancelled a booking from same guest when checks were done.
Very interested to know what checks they were, other than if the client was paying them a fee and the payment bounced. Then I could see them getting involved, otherwise they are dictating who you as an owner can accept into your property. We all have different levels of acceptance, nowhere have HA asked me to clarify mine