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Airbnb reminds users to keep passwords secure after hackers reportedly steal thousands
A property manager said hackers stole thousands of dollars from him, and now, he's trying to recover the money.
ST. CLOUD, Fla, . - A property manager said hackers stole more than $100,000 from him, and now, he's trying to recover the money.
Jamil Swaid manages vacation rentals. He said he uses the Airbnb system because he likes that guests pay through that system, and then Airbnb pays property managers. But he said he recently discovered more than $100,000 in payments stolen by hackers.
"Really bad. Don’t get me wrong. This money’s not mine. I am a property manager. I had to take money from my pocket, so I could pay everyone to meet my obligations with them."
An Airbnb spokesperson told FOX 35 News that they are not allowed to talk about individual accounts due to privacy, but the company released this statement:
"We take reports of fraudulent activity very seriously, and we consistently work to educate our users with best practices, on how to keep their accounts secure. In the rare instances where this occurs, our specialized team is available."
Swaid said he changed his password as well as hard drives after Airbnb told him what happened. He said he is not sure how the hackers got his information.
"It’s very shocking."
Travel researcher Asher Fergusson said hackers can be very clever in tricking people with fake text messages.
"It appears to be coming from Airbnb and then the unsuspecting user sends their logins in, with their username and password."
And there are other ways as well.
"Ransomware and other email phishing scams or just guessing passwords."
That's why experts advise that you need to be careful to not share your passwords with anybody and make them secure.
"After researching well over 100,000 twitter complaints posted by guests and hosts, I’ve seen all kinds of crazy things like that."
After contacting Airbnb, Swaid said they still have his payout account frozen. He said no one called him back until FOX 35 contacted Airbnb.
"Thanks, FOX 35 News."
As Airbnb tries to help Swaid he said he needs the money soon or he’ll go out of business.