Fake Booking.com listing sends tourists to London pub

A fraudulent accommodation listing on Booking.com used the address of The Liberty Bounds pub near Tower Bridge, prompting staff to turn away tourists who arrived expecting to find apartments. Which? said pub staff reported turning away as many as 20 people a day, while Booking.com said its investigation indicated that criminals gained temporary access to legitimate properties’ accounts through phishing. The listing advertised The London Crown apartments at the pub’s address. Which? said it remained visible on Booking.com on September 23, with more than 250 negative reviews posted in August and September. The reports do not establish how many customers were affected or the period covered by the estimate of up to 20 visitors a day. Paul Dawson, from Loughborough, told Which? he booked a one-night stay for himself and family in August. Two days later, he received a message purporting to be from The London Crown that included a link to a page resembling Booking.com and asked for his bank details. After he contacted the platform, he said, customer support told him to go to the listed address and wait until after 7 p.m. before it would arrange alternative accommodation.