BUSINESS TECHNOLOGY MEDIA FOR AFRICA

Booking.com warns of an increase in travel scams

Lezeth Khoza
By Lezeth Khoza, Junior journalist
Johannesburg, 24 Jun 2024
The company says attackers are using AI to launch attacks that mimic genuine emails.
The company says attackers are using AI to launch attacks that mimic genuine emails.

Booking.com is claiming an increase in online travel booking scams as a result of the development and advancement of artificial intelligence.

According to BBC News, the online travel booking platform has seen a significant surge in internet scams, resulting in individuals losing money.

Marnie Wilking, the company's online safety executive, is quoted as saying scams had increased by 500 to 900% during the last 18 months.

Wilking said travellers are duped into handing up their financial information using artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT.

"Of course, we've had phishing since the dawn of email, but the uptick started shortly after ChatGPT got launched," she said.

"The attackers are definitely using AI to launch attacks that mimic emails far better than anything that they have done to date."

Wilking spoke at the Collision technology conference in Toronto on how AI can make commercials appear realistic by using advanced features such as spelling checks in many languages and authentic imagery, making detection difficult.

She is urging hotels and tourists to use two-factor authentication, which includes having a code sent to one's phone, underlining that this is the best method to cope with cybersecurity concerns.

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