Fake Downing Street Listing Exposes Booking.com Fraud Gaps
Which? created a fake Booking.com holiday listing for 10 Downing Street, accepted a controlled test booking and sent an external payment link through the platform's messaging system. Booking.com says the limited test does not reflect the experience of most listings.
The short version
What you need to know
- Which? says it created a fake listing for 10 Downing Street, briefly opened requests, accepted only its own researcher's booking and later posted a fake review as part of a controlled investigation.
- The researchers say Booking.com's messaging system allowed the test host to send an external link requesting card details. Booking.com advises customers to pay only through approved channels and avoid external-payment requests.
- Verify the property, host and payment schedule independently before paying. A VPN can protect traffic on untrusted Wi-Fi, but it cannot prove that a rental listing, host message or payment page is genuine.
What did Which? test?
Which? Travel says it created a one-bedroom holiday listing using the address and an image of 10 Downing Street. The watchdog briefly made the listing available for booking requests, approved only a request from its own researcher and used accounts under its control for the test.
According to Which?, 14 people asked about availability during a 20-minute request window. Its researcher was able to pay for a controlled booking, and the fake listing remained in the system until Booking.com removed the account on 27 August. The investigation did not report that an ordinary traveller completed a stay or paid the fake host.
Why the messaging test matters
Which? says the newly created host account could send its researcher an external URL through Booking.com's messaging system and ask for card details to confirm the booking. The watchdog also submitted an obviously joking review that appeared soon after the platform said moderators would check it.
Booking.com told the BBC that the limited test was not representative of millions of listings or reviews. It said the property was not live throughout the two-month period, some automatic controls were therefore not triggered, and its checks and AI help remove most fraudulent listings within 24 hours.
How to check a holiday booking more safely
Do not assume a message is safe because it appears inside a genuine booking account. Compare every payment request with the schedule in the original confirmation, open the travel service through its official app or a typed address, and contact the property through a separately obtained number when details change unexpectedly.
Be especially cautious if a host asks you to follow an external link, enter card details again, move the conversation to another app or pay by bank transfer. Search the address and property images independently, read recent reviews critically and use a payment method with appropriate consumer protections.
Where a VPN helps — and where it does not
A reputable VPN can encrypt internet traffic from a supported device, which reduces what a local network can observe when you make a genuine booking over airport, hotel or cafe Wi-Fi.
A VPN cannot authenticate a property, stop a platform account from sending an external link, identify a fake review or recover money sent to a fraudster. Listing checks, independent verification and refusing unexpected off-platform payment requests are the relevant protections.
VPN Rocks view
Travel platforms need controls that work before a listing can collect money or use trusted messaging to redirect guests. A warning beside a suspicious link helps, but it should not substitute for effective host, property and payment verification.
Travellers should treat the booking platform as one layer of evidence, not a guarantee. A real account, polished page and accurate trip details can all be present in a scam, so verify any change in payment instructions through a separate official route.
Primary reading
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