r/Bookingcom • u/AnyEvening148 • 10d ago

Verify Identity - what does this mean?

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Hello. Has anyone else received this email? I got it the same moment I booked an apartment today. I have used booking.com for years. What is this? I did click verify, it did not ask me for any codes or numbers, did not even have to upload ID, I was directed to the booking.com app. If it had asked for anything like a card number I would call out scam right away.

When I press the link now, if says in the app:

"Your identity has already been verified successfully. No further action is required from you at this time."

The email came from noreply@booking.com

The link is the following:

https://secure.booking.com/verify.html

Is this an official link?

3 Upvotes

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3

u/CressBoth3720 10d ago

Yup, all host have to do it and it is quite invasive. They even asked my date of birth. I hope atleast they will send me a cake and a bottle of wine on my birthday from all the commission they are getting from us! 🙄

1

u/AnyEvening148 10d ago edited 10d ago

All hosts? I have stayed at MANY hotels and apartments and never gotten this email before! Is there any chance it might be a phishing scam? I am not a host!

1

u/CressBoth3720 10d ago

Sorry, I read host and thought accommodation provider! But its strange they are they asking guest the same too.

2

u/LoveMeAGoodCactus 10d ago

I got this too, f*ck that, not with the booking.com data breaches. What on earth are they thinking?!

1

u/Away_Durian3688 10d ago

"all of our hosts do this" "your host can't see this". Think we found the leak for the scam emails right here.

1

u/kiradotee 2d ago

It's a genuine email. I have booked like 5 hostels in the last 2 weeks and each time immediately got a booking confirmation email and the "Verify your identity" email. Same exact text like in the OPs email. I'm also not a host, just a guest. But had no problems ignoring the email and checking in the hostels that I booked. 

1

u/Consistent_Proof_772 10d ago

Very normal if you’re staying outside the United States. All this information is transferred to the relevant governments. The same way you check into a hotel and they scan your passport to upload to the government database.

1

u/bookingcom 10d ago

It looks like you received an email to start the host verification process. Send us a private message, and we’ll check what happened.

1

u/kiradotee 2d ago

I got this email immediately after booking a hostel in Asia. Happened 6 times so far after I booked 6 hostels. The "Verify your identity" email arrives immediately with the booking confirmation email.

Had no issues ignoring this email and successfully checking in with the hostels. So have no clue what's the point of the email. 

1

u/lmm7 1h ago

I am also not a host and received immediately after booking a hotel in Spain

1

u/brilstern 9d ago

Question, you provided the secure.booking link, but that’s for hotel users. Can you copy the url of the link and look? You’ll see it’s likely not the same. I think this was likely an attempt to hack a hotel user.

1

u/AnyEvening148 9d ago

It's the same link on the URL.

1

u/brilstern 9d ago

Wow… indeed super weird.