Woman in Nicosia loses over €2,200 in accommodation booking scam

Police are investigating a new case of online fraud in Nicosia after a 32-year-old woman reported losing more than €2,200 while booking accommodation online. According to police, on 4 August the woman booked accommodation through an online booking platform. That same day, an unknown person contacted her, claiming to be the property owner. He told the woman that he could offer her a lower price and persuaded her to cancel the original booking and make a new one through another online platform. To do so, he sent her a corresponding link.

The woman followed the link and on 11 August transferred more than €2,200 to the specified bank account. She subsequently received no booking confirmation and realised that she had fallen victim to fraud.

The case is being investigated by the Financial Crime Investigation Unit of the Nicosia Criminal Investigation Department. Police urged residents to exercise particular caution when booking accommodation online and not to respond to suspicious messages or payment requests.

If a message related to a booking is received, people are advised to contact the hotel or property owner directly using official contact details. Police also urged people not to make payments via links received in messages or by email without first verifying their authenticity.

If a user has already followed a suspicious link and entered bank card details, police recommend contacting the bank immediately and blocking the card.