Paris Hotel - Whats App Confirmation Scam

I just made a reservation for a hotel in Rome & it says in BIG BLOCK letters on every page, 'We will never contact you directly via Whatsapp. Do not respond to any request for information sent to you, it's a scam."

So basically, never respond to any request for information on Whatsapp, or for that matter via text. I would go back into the hotel website, or check your reservation you already received, & email them directly.

I stayed in a hotel in Krakow Poland last month and received a Whatsapp request for credit card info about a month before arrival. I assumed it was a scam and emailed them directly, but it turns out that they had actually sent it. Glad I checked though.

I have had this happen to me too. This is related to a recent hack of booking.com. I suspected something, and immediately contacted the hotel and explained it to me.
What I find odd is that the whatsapp messages come from a business account. That means whatsapp knows who the scammers are. Why are they not in prison?

This is VERY common for any hotel booked via booking.com I am sure it happens elsewhere too but.... booking.com appears to have firewalls that say "let every scammer in" (As someone who works in cybersecurity they are on my "DO NOT USE" list because of their incredibly weak security and total lack of response even when they do admit to a breach) They have been hacked more than once but.... nothing seems to change.

If you book via booking.com be VERY careful responding to any requests via any method.

I've received legitimate communications via WhatsApp from hotels, tour guides, and others. BUT...any communication definitely requires some sort of sniff test prior to continuing on with such things as a credit card or banking info. In fact, banking (and debit) info should NEVER be shared without VERY VERY HIGH confidence in the whole interaction. At least with a credit card, you'll have a layer of protection (and a time buffer), but that added layer still shouldn't let you skip the sniff test and confirm independently the validity of a WhatsApp or phone text message.

For a sniff test, a simple, "Why would they want/need my CC information again" should suffice, and then, if truly wondering, direct contact to the hotel (or other party) would sort it out.

IOW, legit businesses will literally NEVER request your CC details again after you've booked something. Just doesn't happen.

I received a legit message on WhatsApp from the hotel I stayed at in Nice recently. It was asking questions to make our stay comfortable. Nothing financial. Before responding I checked through booking.com. The hotel confirmed it was from them.

I received a WhatsApp message with details from a reservation I have for a Paris hotel next Spring. There were links to click to confirm my reservation or risk losing my booking. The text included my name and travel dates. In my case, this reservation was booked directly with the hotel, not through booking.com. I thought it looked suspect, so I have emailed the hotel directly, and haven't responded or clicked any links in the WhatsApp message. 99% sure it is a scam.

I got the weird Whats App message - twice! - and emailed my hotel in Paris. They confirmed what people are saying here - it's a scam.

Thank you everyone! The hotel confirmed this morning that my reservation is good. And, they did mention a common scam. I don't remember if I booked directly with the hotel or through booking.com (back in August), but fortunately, neither card I entered yesterday has a pending charge. Both of those cards either require me to approve every transaction (on my phone) or text me about a transaction over $1. So I think I'm good.

Thanks again to everyone who replied!

Robin

Your booking confirmation email will tell you whether you booked direct or with Booking.com

You can also see all your bookings on Booking.com

I don't remember if I booked directly with the hotel or through booking.com

You probably booked through the hotel itself as there are a number of threads on this forum right now talking about the same WhatsApp scam and all of them involved reservations that were booked directly with the hotel. It appears that the booking engines the hotels are using were hacked and so scammers got access to guests' email and information and phone numbers; hence the messages you're getting through WhatsApp.

You might get more. I've already gotten two for the same Paris hotel.