Payment instructions from HomeAway look fishy to meSafest ways to pay for a vacation rental?
What happens to foam insulation board after you pour concrete slab?
How is TD(0) method helpful? What good does it do?
Is there any word or phrase for negative bearing?
What is in `tex.print` or `tex.sprint`?
Function to extract float from different price patterns
What do we gain with higher order logics?
Finding x,y coordinates where y is largest
Importance sampling estimation of power function
Did Darth Vader wear the same suit for 20+ years?
How do I write "Show, Don't Tell" as an Asperger?
Why don’t airliners have temporary liveries?
What is the right way to float a home lab?
Working in the USA for living expenses only; allowed on VWP?
Did thousands of women die every year due to illegal abortions before Roe v. Wade?
How to pass a regex when finding a directory path in bash?
Do manufacturers try make their components as close to ideal ones as possible?
Does the "6 seconds per round" rule apply to speaking/roleplaying during combat situations?
How to skip replacing first occurrence of a character in each line?
Java guess the number
Do adult Russians normally hand-write Cyrillic as cursive or as block letters?
Why did a party with more votes get fewer seats in the 2019 European Parliament election in Denmark?
What is the traditional way of earning a doctorate in Germany?
Bash difference or preferred negation statement
My coworkers think I had a long honeymoon. Actually I was diagnosed with cancer. How do I talk about it?
Payment instructions from HomeAway look fishy to me
Safest ways to pay for a vacation rental?
.everyoneloves__top-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__mid-leaderboard:empty,.everyoneloves__bot-mid-leaderboard:empty margin-bottom:0;
I'm in the process of setting up a long-term lease agreement for an apartment in my hometown with a landlord which lives abroad. The landlord suggested to use a middleman called HomeAway so that the landlord would not have to travel to my country for exchange of keys, legal documents and the security deposit, to which I've agreed. In our case, the landlord has sent the keys and legal documents to HomeAway, which will keep them until we have transferred the security deposit to HomeAway.
HomeAway has sent me instructions for the bank transfer and I'm not sure what to make of it. Their correspondence looks too fishy for what I would expect from a company dealing with these sums of money but it also looks too good, at least for the average scammer. Here are the things that surprised me:
- The standardised text for the instructions has a few typographical errors.
- They mention in multiple places that the transfer has to happen within 48 hours, which is impossible considering that I got the instructions on a Friday and my bank won't process the transfer until Monday morning.
- Emails from them are sent from a different domain (homeaway-eu.com) than where their website is (homeaway.com).
- The destination account is registered to a private person in Milan, without any mention of HomeAway.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Should I be cautious? Has anyone had a similar experience with HomeAway and how did it play out?
rental scams payment
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
|
show 2 more comments
I'm in the process of setting up a long-term lease agreement for an apartment in my hometown with a landlord which lives abroad. The landlord suggested to use a middleman called HomeAway so that the landlord would not have to travel to my country for exchange of keys, legal documents and the security deposit, to which I've agreed. In our case, the landlord has sent the keys and legal documents to HomeAway, which will keep them until we have transferred the security deposit to HomeAway.
HomeAway has sent me instructions for the bank transfer and I'm not sure what to make of it. Their correspondence looks too fishy for what I would expect from a company dealing with these sums of money but it also looks too good, at least for the average scammer. Here are the things that surprised me:
- The standardised text for the instructions has a few typographical errors.
- They mention in multiple places that the transfer has to happen within 48 hours, which is impossible considering that I got the instructions on a Friday and my bank won't process the transfer until Monday morning.
- Emails from them are sent from a different domain (homeaway-eu.com) than where their website is (homeaway.com).
- The destination account is registered to a private person in Milan, without any mention of HomeAway.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Should I be cautious? Has anyone had a similar experience with HomeAway and how did it play out?
rental scams payment
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
If the domain name is different I would be very cautious. Is it possible to phone them on some number that is mentioned on the website to confirm details?
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
That actually smells bad because : - homeaway is supposed to deal with short-term rentals, not long-term; - homeaway will always insist that you'd better exchange message and payment with the owner thru their platform. Did you actually visit the apartment ? Who gave you access ? Why not deal with that person ?
– audionuma
8 hours ago
1
Also, the main domain homeaway.com was registered in 1998 whereas homeaway-eu.com in 2018. They use different registrars. Normally what a company does is either creates a subdomain like eu.homeaway.com or will use a slash on their website like homeaway.com/eu but having a completely different domain in this fashion is very fishy. Even homeaway.eu would sound more legit.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Funny enough homeaway.eu does exist.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
@audionuma We actually got in contact with the owner by Email through a listing on a local rental listing site and wrote back and forth some. They sent us images both of the apartment as well as from themselves. Their german as well as english is very decent. We are now in contact over WhatsApp, but I did not yet want to disclose my doubts to them. Of course everything I would expect from a scammer but with much more effort than I would expect put into it.
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
I'm in the process of setting up a long-term lease agreement for an apartment in my hometown with a landlord which lives abroad. The landlord suggested to use a middleman called HomeAway so that the landlord would not have to travel to my country for exchange of keys, legal documents and the security deposit, to which I've agreed. In our case, the landlord has sent the keys and legal documents to HomeAway, which will keep them until we have transferred the security deposit to HomeAway.
HomeAway has sent me instructions for the bank transfer and I'm not sure what to make of it. Their correspondence looks too fishy for what I would expect from a company dealing with these sums of money but it also looks too good, at least for the average scammer. Here are the things that surprised me:
- The standardised text for the instructions has a few typographical errors.
- They mention in multiple places that the transfer has to happen within 48 hours, which is impossible considering that I got the instructions on a Friday and my bank won't process the transfer until Monday morning.
- Emails from them are sent from a different domain (homeaway-eu.com) than where their website is (homeaway.com).
- The destination account is registered to a private person in Milan, without any mention of HomeAway.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Should I be cautious? Has anyone had a similar experience with HomeAway and how did it play out?
rental scams payment
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
I'm in the process of setting up a long-term lease agreement for an apartment in my hometown with a landlord which lives abroad. The landlord suggested to use a middleman called HomeAway so that the landlord would not have to travel to my country for exchange of keys, legal documents and the security deposit, to which I've agreed. In our case, the landlord has sent the keys and legal documents to HomeAway, which will keep them until we have transferred the security deposit to HomeAway.
HomeAway has sent me instructions for the bank transfer and I'm not sure what to make of it. Their correspondence looks too fishy for what I would expect from a company dealing with these sums of money but it also looks too good, at least for the average scammer. Here are the things that surprised me:
- The standardised text for the instructions has a few typographical errors.
- They mention in multiple places that the transfer has to happen within 48 hours, which is impossible considering that I got the instructions on a Friday and my bank won't process the transfer until Monday morning.
- Emails from them are sent from a different domain (homeaway-eu.com) than where their website is (homeaway.com).
- The destination account is registered to a private person in Milan, without any mention of HomeAway.
I'm not sure what to make of this. Should I be cautious? Has anyone had a similar experience with HomeAway and how did it play out?
rental scams payment
rental scams payment
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
edited 8 hours ago
JJJ
928619
928619
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
asked 8 hours ago
FeuermurmelFeuermurmel
1314
1314
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
New contributor
Feuermurmel is a new contributor to this site. Take care in asking for clarification, commenting, and answering.
Check out our Code of Conduct.
1
If the domain name is different I would be very cautious. Is it possible to phone them on some number that is mentioned on the website to confirm details?
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
That actually smells bad because : - homeaway is supposed to deal with short-term rentals, not long-term; - homeaway will always insist that you'd better exchange message and payment with the owner thru their platform. Did you actually visit the apartment ? Who gave you access ? Why not deal with that person ?
– audionuma
8 hours ago
1
Also, the main domain homeaway.com was registered in 1998 whereas homeaway-eu.com in 2018. They use different registrars. Normally what a company does is either creates a subdomain like eu.homeaway.com or will use a slash on their website like homeaway.com/eu but having a completely different domain in this fashion is very fishy. Even homeaway.eu would sound more legit.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Funny enough homeaway.eu does exist.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
@audionuma We actually got in contact with the owner by Email through a listing on a local rental listing site and wrote back and forth some. They sent us images both of the apartment as well as from themselves. Their german as well as english is very decent. We are now in contact over WhatsApp, but I did not yet want to disclose my doubts to them. Of course everything I would expect from a scammer but with much more effort than I would expect put into it.
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
1
If the domain name is different I would be very cautious. Is it possible to phone them on some number that is mentioned on the website to confirm details?
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
That actually smells bad because : - homeaway is supposed to deal with short-term rentals, not long-term; - homeaway will always insist that you'd better exchange message and payment with the owner thru their platform. Did you actually visit the apartment ? Who gave you access ? Why not deal with that person ?
– audionuma
8 hours ago
1
Also, the main domain homeaway.com was registered in 1998 whereas homeaway-eu.com in 2018. They use different registrars. Normally what a company does is either creates a subdomain like eu.homeaway.com or will use a slash on their website like homeaway.com/eu but having a completely different domain in this fashion is very fishy. Even homeaway.eu would sound more legit.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Funny enough homeaway.eu does exist.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
@audionuma We actually got in contact with the owner by Email through a listing on a local rental listing site and wrote back and forth some. They sent us images both of the apartment as well as from themselves. Their german as well as english is very decent. We are now in contact over WhatsApp, but I did not yet want to disclose my doubts to them. Of course everything I would expect from a scammer but with much more effort than I would expect put into it.
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
1
1
If the domain name is different I would be very cautious. Is it possible to phone them on some number that is mentioned on the website to confirm details?
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
If the domain name is different I would be very cautious. Is it possible to phone them on some number that is mentioned on the website to confirm details?
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
That actually smells bad because : - homeaway is supposed to deal with short-term rentals, not long-term; - homeaway will always insist that you'd better exchange message and payment with the owner thru their platform. Did you actually visit the apartment ? Who gave you access ? Why not deal with that person ?
– audionuma
8 hours ago
That actually smells bad because : - homeaway is supposed to deal with short-term rentals, not long-term; - homeaway will always insist that you'd better exchange message and payment with the owner thru their platform. Did you actually visit the apartment ? Who gave you access ? Why not deal with that person ?
– audionuma
8 hours ago
1
1
Also, the main domain homeaway.com was registered in 1998 whereas homeaway-eu.com in 2018. They use different registrars. Normally what a company does is either creates a subdomain like eu.homeaway.com or will use a slash on their website like homeaway.com/eu but having a completely different domain in this fashion is very fishy. Even homeaway.eu would sound more legit.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Also, the main domain homeaway.com was registered in 1998 whereas homeaway-eu.com in 2018. They use different registrars. Normally what a company does is either creates a subdomain like eu.homeaway.com or will use a slash on their website like homeaway.com/eu but having a completely different domain in this fashion is very fishy. Even homeaway.eu would sound more legit.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Funny enough homeaway.eu does exist.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Funny enough homeaway.eu does exist.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
@audionuma We actually got in contact with the owner by Email through a listing on a local rental listing site and wrote back and forth some. They sent us images both of the apartment as well as from themselves. Their german as well as english is very decent. We are now in contact over WhatsApp, but I did not yet want to disclose my doubts to them. Of course everything I would expect from a scammer but with much more effort than I would expect put into it.
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
@audionuma We actually got in contact with the owner by Email through a listing on a local rental listing site and wrote back and forth some. They sent us images both of the apartment as well as from themselves. Their german as well as english is very decent. We are now in contact over WhatsApp, but I did not yet want to disclose my doubts to them. Of course everything I would expect from a scammer but with much more effort than I would expect put into it.
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
|
show 2 more comments
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
Just looking at the domain name:
homeaway-eu.com - registered in 2018- registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
- registered by: information hidden
- email account hosted by: privateemail.com (which is a product of NameCheap domain registrar, essentially it's a 1 minute job to create an email account there)
Whereas:
homeaway.com - registered in 1998- registrar: MarkMonitor, Inc.
- registered by: HomeAway.com, Inc.
- there is even a homeaway.eu - registered in 2006
- registrar: MarkMonitor International Limited
- registered by: Vacation Villas International GmbH
- no email accounts
A legitimate website normally creates a subdomain (i.e. eu.homeaway.com), or they use homeaway.com for emails but add a slash in their website (i.e. homeaway.com/eu), or lastly might buy a different domain name still preserving the name (i.e. homeaway.eu - though I don't know whether this is an official one). In this case, having a domain like "homeaway-eu.com" and using a different registrar seems fishy.
I would get in contact with the real homeaway.com by either an email or phone number on their website to confirm any details before transferring money. Otherwise, I would simply say ABORT.
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
I've also noticedprivateemail.comin theReceived:headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function()
var channelOptions =
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "273"
;
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function()
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled)
StackExchange.using("snippets", function()
createEditor();
);
else
createEditor();
);
function createEditor()
StackExchange.prepareEditor(
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader:
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
,
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
);
);
Feuermurmel is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2ftravel.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f139658%2fpayment-instructions-from-homeaway-look-fishy-to-me%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
Just looking at the domain name:
homeaway-eu.com - registered in 2018- registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
- registered by: information hidden
- email account hosted by: privateemail.com (which is a product of NameCheap domain registrar, essentially it's a 1 minute job to create an email account there)
Whereas:
homeaway.com - registered in 1998- registrar: MarkMonitor, Inc.
- registered by: HomeAway.com, Inc.
- there is even a homeaway.eu - registered in 2006
- registrar: MarkMonitor International Limited
- registered by: Vacation Villas International GmbH
- no email accounts
A legitimate website normally creates a subdomain (i.e. eu.homeaway.com), or they use homeaway.com for emails but add a slash in their website (i.e. homeaway.com/eu), or lastly might buy a different domain name still preserving the name (i.e. homeaway.eu - though I don't know whether this is an official one). In this case, having a domain like "homeaway-eu.com" and using a different registrar seems fishy.
I would get in contact with the real homeaway.com by either an email or phone number on their website to confirm any details before transferring money. Otherwise, I would simply say ABORT.
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
I've also noticedprivateemail.comin theReceived:headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Just looking at the domain name:
homeaway-eu.com - registered in 2018- registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
- registered by: information hidden
- email account hosted by: privateemail.com (which is a product of NameCheap domain registrar, essentially it's a 1 minute job to create an email account there)
Whereas:
homeaway.com - registered in 1998- registrar: MarkMonitor, Inc.
- registered by: HomeAway.com, Inc.
- there is even a homeaway.eu - registered in 2006
- registrar: MarkMonitor International Limited
- registered by: Vacation Villas International GmbH
- no email accounts
A legitimate website normally creates a subdomain (i.e. eu.homeaway.com), or they use homeaway.com for emails but add a slash in their website (i.e. homeaway.com/eu), or lastly might buy a different domain name still preserving the name (i.e. homeaway.eu - though I don't know whether this is an official one). In this case, having a domain like "homeaway-eu.com" and using a different registrar seems fishy.
I would get in contact with the real homeaway.com by either an email or phone number on their website to confirm any details before transferring money. Otherwise, I would simply say ABORT.
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
I've also noticedprivateemail.comin theReceived:headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Just looking at the domain name:
homeaway-eu.com - registered in 2018- registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
- registered by: information hidden
- email account hosted by: privateemail.com (which is a product of NameCheap domain registrar, essentially it's a 1 minute job to create an email account there)
Whereas:
homeaway.com - registered in 1998- registrar: MarkMonitor, Inc.
- registered by: HomeAway.com, Inc.
- there is even a homeaway.eu - registered in 2006
- registrar: MarkMonitor International Limited
- registered by: Vacation Villas International GmbH
- no email accounts
A legitimate website normally creates a subdomain (i.e. eu.homeaway.com), or they use homeaway.com for emails but add a slash in their website (i.e. homeaway.com/eu), or lastly might buy a different domain name still preserving the name (i.e. homeaway.eu - though I don't know whether this is an official one). In this case, having a domain like "homeaway-eu.com" and using a different registrar seems fishy.
I would get in contact with the real homeaway.com by either an email or phone number on their website to confirm any details before transferring money. Otherwise, I would simply say ABORT.
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
Just looking at the domain name:
homeaway-eu.com - registered in 2018- registrar: NAMECHEAP INC
- registered by: information hidden
- email account hosted by: privateemail.com (which is a product of NameCheap domain registrar, essentially it's a 1 minute job to create an email account there)
Whereas:
homeaway.com - registered in 1998- registrar: MarkMonitor, Inc.
- registered by: HomeAway.com, Inc.
- there is even a homeaway.eu - registered in 2006
- registrar: MarkMonitor International Limited
- registered by: Vacation Villas International GmbH
- no email accounts
A legitimate website normally creates a subdomain (i.e. eu.homeaway.com), or they use homeaway.com for emails but add a slash in their website (i.e. homeaway.com/eu), or lastly might buy a different domain name still preserving the name (i.e. homeaway.eu - though I don't know whether this is an official one). In this case, having a domain like "homeaway-eu.com" and using a different registrar seems fishy.
I would get in contact with the real homeaway.com by either an email or phone number on their website to confirm any details before transferring money. Otherwise, I would simply say ABORT.
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
edited 7 hours ago
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
answered 8 hours ago
kiradoteekiradotee
574415
574415
I've also noticedprivateemail.comin theReceived:headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
add a comment |
I've also noticedprivateemail.comin theReceived:headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
I've also noticed
privateemail.com in the Received: headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've also noticed
privateemail.com in the Received: headers in the emails I got! :'D I will contact HomeAway directly through their site at homeaway.com (they offer calling and web-chat).– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
I've upvoted kikradotee's Answer. The last two lines are exactly correct.
– David
6 hours ago
add a comment |
Feuermurmel is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Feuermurmel is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Feuermurmel is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Feuermurmel is a new contributor. Be nice, and check out our Code of Conduct.
Thanks for contributing an answer to Travel Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function ()
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2ftravel.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f139658%2fpayment-instructions-from-homeaway-look-fishy-to-me%23new-answer', 'question_page');
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function ()
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
);
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
1
If the domain name is different I would be very cautious. Is it possible to phone them on some number that is mentioned on the website to confirm details?
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
That actually smells bad because : - homeaway is supposed to deal with short-term rentals, not long-term; - homeaway will always insist that you'd better exchange message and payment with the owner thru their platform. Did you actually visit the apartment ? Who gave you access ? Why not deal with that person ?
– audionuma
8 hours ago
1
Also, the main domain homeaway.com was registered in 1998 whereas homeaway-eu.com in 2018. They use different registrars. Normally what a company does is either creates a subdomain like eu.homeaway.com or will use a slash on their website like homeaway.com/eu but having a completely different domain in this fashion is very fishy. Even homeaway.eu would sound more legit.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
Funny enough homeaway.eu does exist.
– kiradotee
8 hours ago
@audionuma We actually got in contact with the owner by Email through a listing on a local rental listing site and wrote back and forth some. They sent us images both of the apartment as well as from themselves. Their german as well as english is very decent. We are now in contact over WhatsApp, but I did not yet want to disclose my doubts to them. Of course everything I would expect from a scammer but with much more effort than I would expect put into it.
– Feuermurmel
7 hours ago