Updated 15-2-2013 - this morning a phishing attack was launched where you are asked to syncronize your account. We would never ask you to do this. You can also see that the domain in your browser says www.espain-holiday.com and not www.spain-holiday.com.
Phishing is a clever scam, so please read on and learn how to avoid it.
How phishing works
- The phisher sends you an enquiry which appears genuine
- You answer him and he now knows your email address
- He sends you an email which appears to be sent from your email provider such as Gmail, Yahoo!, Hotmail etc. This email includes a false login page to your webmail (In some cases, he may even try to send you a fake Spain-holiday.com login page, to access your enquiries that way)
- You login from this fake login page and now he has your email address and your password
- Next he enters your webmail and takes over all the communication with renters. You will never know, since he deletes the emails once he has taken the contact and content. He can also setup filters, so that emails are automatically forwarded to his email address
- He now acts as you and asks for the rental deposit to be sent to his bank account. He usually offers them a discount, if they pay in full
- He receives the money, the renter thinks he has booked your holiday home and you will only discover the problem once it's too late
How to avoid becoming a victim
Just before you enter your email address and password into any login page, make sure that the address of the website you visit shows the correct domain name and that it starts with 'https' and not only 'http'. Examples
Phishing login
Correct login
What to do if you suspect you have become a victim
A phisher is usually very clever, so just changing the password to your webmail is not enough. We suggest you do the following and note that the order should be followed
- Close your email account and create a new one. This may seem drastic, but its necessary
- Change your password on your Spain-holiday.com account
- Contact the support team, to inform us about your suspicion
- Enter your account on Spain-holiday.com and any other websites you may advertise on. Contact all the people who sent you enquiries to warn them not send payments to anybody except you
Read more about phishing
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phishing
https://www.spain-holiday.com/rentalbuzz/phishing-and-email-scams-homeowners-be-alert
https://www.spain-holiday.com/rentalbuzz/phishing-and-email-scams-update