Teresa Santos tried for a yr to get her a refund after her Airbnb account was hacked and a $2,407.88 cost was made to her PayPal account. Whereas the hosts of the property have been understanding and authorized the total refund, Santos, a single mother of three, was caught in a wrestle between Airbnb and PayPal to truly get her a refund.
“I used to be stepping into circles,” she instructed ABC 7 New York (1). “Airbnb was insisting that they canceled it.” Nevertheless, Santos’ refund from the corporate was initially solely $110 due to the open dispute with PayPal.
PayPal instructed Santos: “Primarily based on our overview, the transaction is constant together with your PayPal historical past,” and refused to course of the refund.
Santos had labored arduous to afford an condo within the Stuytown neighborhood, and was afraid that the excellent invoice, which had gone into collections, might negatively impression her credit score rating and make her ineligible for the condo she had lengthy coveted.
Whereas many rip-off victims don’t have a year-long restoration course of, having your on-line accounts or banking data hacked can significantly mess up your funds, your credit score, and your wellbeing. Right here’s what you are able to do to guard your self from related points for those who turn into the sufferer of an account hack.
Unauthorized fees in your funds accounts are sometimes an indication of identification theft, as stealing your login credentials to impersonate you and use your account data and linked fee strategies is a type of fraud.
On-line security platform Aura (2) warns that whereas account hacks are usually not the most typical Airbnb scams, they’ll do probably the most injury. They are saying hackers usually change the login credentials to lock you out of your Airbnb account, making it harder so that you can resolve the difficulty with the corporate’s customer support group.
The Federal Reserve (3) warns social engineering, phishing, and different ways are sometimes utilized by scammers to persuade you handy over your login particulars and different delicate data. Whereas each Airbnb and PayPal have client safety insurance policies in place, account hacks could make it troublesome to resolve the difficulty. And whereas Santos didn’t say how she believes her account was hacked, McAfee (4) warns a typical approach scammers get your login data is by sending phony messages ‘confirming’ a purchase order via your account. While you click on the hyperlink within the e-mail to login and ‘confirm’ the acquisition, the rip-off web site data your e-mail handle and password. You may report these emails to phishing@paypal.com.
Learn Extra: 5 important cash strikes to make when you’ve saved $50,000
A submit on AirbnbHell (5), a discussion board the place disgruntled prospects complain about numerous points with the corporate, reveals a number of others declare to have had related hacking points as Santos over time, and have additionally equally had points in search of a decision with each Airbnb and PayPal.
Again in 2019, USA At this time (6) reported a spate of Airbnb account hacks had customers vowing to ditch the platform as a result of problem in resolving the problems and receiving refunds on each their bank cards and PayPal accounts.
The Id Theft Useful resource Heart (ITRC) (7) reported in 2025 that victims of identification theft have been way more prone to contemplate self-harm of their response to identification theft than the overall inhabitants. This reveals the intense adverse impression that victimization can have past the monetary points, comparable to a broken credit score rating, being despatched to collections for debt that you simply have been unaware of — and even dropping your tax refund, your medical insurance protection, or your house.
ITRC studies victims are more and more extra prone to be focused once more by scammers, making the emotional, psychological and monetary toll even heavier. That’s why it’s vital to take steps to guard your self earlier than you turn into a goal.
In February 2026, PayPal introduced a cybersecurity incident (8) impacted “a small variety of prospects” between July and December 2025, permitting their personal information to be accessed by a 3rd occasion, and “a number of prospects skilled unauthorized transactions on their account and PayPal has issued refunds to those prospects.”
This information breach reveals counting on funds firms to safeguard your information isn’t a foolproof answer for holding your cash secure. Some suggestions for avoiding changing into the goal of a fraudster embrace:
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Making on-line funds via a bank card as a substitute of a third-party funds firm. Bank cards usually have extra strong client safety in case of fraud.
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Usually overview your transaction historical past on funds platforms and in your financial institution accounts to examine for any transactions you don’t acknowledge.
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Usually replace your passwords on web sites that retailer your third occasion funds or bank card data.
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Higher but, take away your saved bank card and funds data from these web sites to guard your self in case of a breach.
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Should you’re not planning to open any new accounts, you too can freeze your credit score to stop scammers from opening a brand new credit score account in your title.
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Report any potential fraudulent transactions as quickly as you discover them, and place a fraud alert in your account with a credit score bureau.
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We rely solely on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For particulars, see our editorial ethics and tips.
ABC 7 New York (1); Aura (2); Federal Reserve (3); McAfee (4); AirbnbHell (5); USA At this time (6); Id Theft Useful resource Heart (7); PayPal (8)
This text supplies data solely and shouldn’t be construed as recommendation. It’s supplied with out guarantee of any sort.
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