The man responded to a ticket offer he found on an advertising website.
“The seller offered one ticket for 7,200 crowns. The victim agreed with him to buy four tickets for a total of 22,000 crowns and pay in advance. After paying for the tickets by bank transfer, the seller stopped communicating,” informed police spokesman Jaroslav Herzán.
The police have initiated criminal proceedings in the matter for the offense of fraud, for which the perpetrator faces up to two years behind bars in extreme cases.
“Due to the great interest in this football match, it is likely that similar frauds will increase. The police recommend buying tickets only from verified sellers,” the police spokesman added.
The most common frauds, how to detect them and not get robbed
In recent months, police statistics have been flooded with stories of unfortunate people who fell prey to Internet fraudsters. At the same time, cyber crooks use the same tricks over and over again, through which they try to trick and often rip off the trusting. Prepare for them and see how to defend against the most common online scams.
Danger also lurks in booking
Danger lurks for travelers not only on bazaars, social networks, discussion forums or fake websites. Fraud through the Booking.com portal has already increased significantly in the past year. Given that these are relatively sophisticated procedures, even otherwise cautious users can get caught.
Cyber security experts point out that the Booking.com website itself was not directly attacked. Instead, cybercriminals focused on penetrating the administrative systems of individual hotels that use the portal.
According to researchers at cybersecurity company Secureworks, hackers first trick hotel staff into downloading the Vidar Infostealer malware, which they send via email. In it, they pretend to be a former guest who allegedly forgot his passport in the hotel room.
The criminals then send the staff a link to Google Drive, claiming it contains the passport image. However, instead, the link leads to malicious software that automatically scans hotel systems and gains access to Booking.com accounts.
The hackers then log into the mentioned travel portal, where they have the opportunity to see all customers with a current reservation. In the next step, they use the official Booking.com app to send messages to customers and invite them to pay. However, the money does not go to the hotel’s account, but directly into the pockets of the cyber crooks.
Use common sense
So it turns out that even when communicating through official channels, users are not 100% sure that they will not be cheated. Booking.com is not directly to blame either, but this case raises questions about how travel platforms approach protecting their customers and hotel partners from cyber threats.
Users themselves should be very cautious and carefully check where they send money. If they are looking for accommodation in France, they will probably not be asked to pay into an account in Moldova – such doubts should turn on a red warning light in the head. In this case, it is best to contact the hotel directly, even by phone, and verify the payment.
