Phishing Scams Put Hotel Guest Data At Risk

Uploaded on 2025-04-14 in NEWS-Cybersecurity News, FREE TO VIEW

A new phishing campaign is using the Booking.com to attack hotels online, using fake Captcha websites and hotel and hostel workers are being tricked into downloading credential-stealing malware by cyber criminals impersonating Booking.com.

First identified by leading cyber security firm Malwarebytes, the attack begins with cyber criminals sending a fake Booking.com email, designed to look like a routine reservation confirmation, to the staff at the hotel’s email address, asking them to confirm a reservation.

Clicking the link leads to a near-identical replica of the Booking.com login page. At this point, a CAPTCHA screen pops up, asking the user to “prove you’re human,” and although this might seem like a normal security feature, it is part of the criminal’s scam technique.

Unfortunately, the CAPTCHA page doesn’t verify the user’s identity; instead, it copies a malicious command to the victim’s clipboard. Hotel staff are then told to paste and engage with this command in their Windows system and this will install a Trojan giving criminal hackers access to the hotel’s network. Once inside, attackers can steal guest information, including booking details, personal data, and payment information

In some cases, the attacker will deploy ransomware, locking down the booking system until a ransom is paid. Hackers can also sell this stolen data on the Dark Web, potentially affecting thousands of guests.

The best hotel security for these attacks should include checking the sender’s domain, avoiding suspicious links, logging into Booking.com manually, rather than through a link in an email, and never executing copied commands unless certain of their legitimacy.

To protect against these threats, Booking.com advises hotels to ensure staff are trained to spot phishing attempts.

Image: Ideogram

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