The Ministry of Interior appealed to the citizens about the Booking.com platform – Society

According to available information, unauthorized persons were able to access data such as names, contact details and reservation details, which can be misused for targeted fraud and phishing attacks, according to the Ministry of Interior.

Although, according to the company, payment card data has not been directly compromised, said data can be used for fraud in which the user is subsequently asked for card data or payment execution.

In this regard, the Service for the fight against high-tech crime warns citizens who used the mentioned platform and left payment card information to pay special attention to all transactions with their payment cards, to immediately contact the bank in case of any suspicious activity and block the card, to consider temporarily reducing the daily spending limits for the cards used for online payments, not to submit payment card information via e-mail, SMS messages or messaging applications, as well as to be especially careful with messages that are presented as communication with accommodation or a platform, in which urgent payment or “verification” of the card is required.

Also, we point out that in the previous period, cases of data abuse were recorded precisely through the false representation of accommodation facilities, where the attackers use real data about reservations to make the fraud more believable.

In the event that citizens notice unauthorized transactions or suspect misuse of their data, they should immediately notify the bank, block the card and report the case to the competent authorities.

The service for combating high-tech crime will continue to monitor the aforementioned phenomena and take measures within its competence in order to protect citizens and suppress high-tech crime.