I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience - it is certainly enough to put you off renting forever!  However, not all of us "foreign property owners who accept payment via direct bank transfer" are crooks.  Though I understand your point of view, it's simply not fair to generalize, and doing so only breeds distrust and hurts our business.

Direct bank transfer is a very common way of doing business in many foreign countries.  Though not yet common in the US, it will no doubt be available in the near future.  Remember the initial distrust of "automatic payments"? Though wiring funds through third party systems is not advisable (Western Union, etc.), since anyone with a false ID can intercept the money, direct bank transfer involves no middleman and is a protected transaction.  It is important, however, that you validate the identity of the Owner/Manager before sending funds.  It is unfortunate that you did not do this, and I'm sorry that you had to learn the hard way.  Many Owners do not accept credit cards or PayPal-type payment systems.  There are various reasons for this: protection usually extends to the Purchaser and not the Seller, high fees, etc.  For some of us, direct bank transfer is the only sensible method, since all our bills are paid in this manner.

You raise some good points that prospective renters would be wise to practice.   By all means, do a background check on the Owner - many of us check out our Renters!  Doing business in cyberspace is risky - it is best for both sides to be cautious.  Most of us are listed on several social networks, such as FaceBook, LinkdIn, etc. Though many Owners/Managers prefer to remain anonymous and do not complete the "Owner's Profile", I personally never rent from these listings.  I want to know who I'm dealing with, and figure my guests do too.  Though not a guarantee, it is a step in the right direction.

If a phone number is not listed, request one via email, as well as a convenient time to place the call - the time difference between France and the US is 7 hours, for example.  Since my cable service offers free long-distance service, I always offer to call the Renter, or at least call them back after they validate my identity.  However, if an Owner/Manager was not amenable to a phone call, I would look elsewhere for a rental.

As far as dealing only with "US-based counterparties" - this provides no guarantee of legitimacy or performance.  I rent frequently, for myself or friends, and have had the misfortune of renting from several different US-based Owners/Managers whose foreign properties were in terrible condition.  ( The last one was so awful that I requested a refund - the Manager admitted that the property had not been inspected in at least 10 years!  An inspection followed, and I received a refund and an apology.  I was fortunate in this case. )  I live in my rental, but many Owners do not.  Ask the Owner how often (s)he visits the property.  Some people are lucky enough to have great support staff - others, not so much.

Unfortunately, "hacking" and "phishing" are becoming commonplace.  The Internet is a criminal's playground.  Many of us have suffered a scam of one kind or another.  As consumers and service providers, we should all be on our guard.  But please don't assume the rest of us are dishonest, just because we prefer a certain banking method - credit card fraud abounds, as well!

Be careful, out there...

Dear all, I was sent an email yesterday from VRBO simply telling me that an inquiry was sent to a property in London and the account of this property was hacked, so the were telling me that they have great concerns that a safe issue regarding this could jeopardy my trip and advise not go on and instead go to the page again and submit again the inquiry.

But this was done 10 days after I made the inquiry. And it was too late because a payment was made already, via bank transfer. In the email VRBO sent me, no reply email was given, no phone number was given, showing they don't care much about the travellers.

I phoned the owner and he confirmed I was a victim. I sent an email, yesterday, to VRBO and they did not reply me. Given how serious is this issue that jeopardy the entire system, I really expect more attention from VRBO to solve this problem.

So, I warn all travellers NOT to trust in the system, while they don't give all the guarantee of safety system.

I contacted Karry today at VRBO and now Im waiting for a contact of VRBO security team. I did the Carefree Guarantee, so I hope I can have my money back, but lost any confidence on this.

Hi victimofrentalfraud,

I removed the exact email address of your scammer because it violates the terms of our Community site to share the personal information of others. However, I am glad that you are sharing your experience here.

I am passing on the information you have shared to our Trust and Security Department to investigate.

The best way to report scams is use our support forms

HomeAway Support

VRBO Support

Thank you,

Meredith

Online Community Coordinator

manouche:   excellent response, IMO.  I am VERY GRATEFUL to 'victimofrentalfraud' for posting the warning.  My sympathy to you. Your post is a VALUABLE warning.  It sent a chill through me.  Everyone has to be so careful and do whatever possible to "foster The Trust" between us.  But, "generalizations" made need to be challenged, and I thank you for doing it {because I was about to....you saved me the effort}.  The recommendations to be suspicious of and reject Owners who use "bank wire transfers"....and to "deal with US-based counterparts" are generalizations.   To imply that US-based counterparts would be more trustworthy to transact with, is.... niave.  Please...there are crooks everywhere....USA is not without  "bad-guys".   I'm an Owner based in the USA {and American born}, and offer several methods of payment and ONE method I use often is via bank transfer....and I'm very grateful for it because there have been so many instances where other methods were limited, by the Guests' side...so it was their preferred method.  And, it has been easy and secure for both parties.  I do whatever possible for my prospects to give them the assurances they need, if they are insecure, in the beginning. And, there is a "footprint" online for me, a history, County records where my business is registered, etc..   So, I think Owners need to think about how they are organized for doing this business....what evidence for legitimacy can they offer prospects when asked....and we all need to be careful when we are traveling ourselves.   Actually,  I have had more problems with credit card misuse {maxed out and even fraudelent} and deposit checks bouncing when I cashed them! {But, I still accept credit cards and checks, as well.} I am currently based in the USA after having lived in Europe for many years ... I have had absolutely NO problem with bank transfers from either within the USA  {I get a few each year in US},  or with  overseas guests {European and South-East Asia locations}.   To get money hand to hand:  the bank transfer originates from "my guests' bank account directly into my business bank account"....handled  by our banks {no third party}. And...for my own business security, I use a bank account that is only for those transactions...the money I receive I transfer over to another account. If a "scamming guest" wants to try to empty the account...there is nothing for them to steal.

To manouche and anja:  perhaps you can explain how a renter would use a wire transfer with confidence?  (If anyone else wants to respond that's fine.)

I understand that an owner feels secure with a wire transfer; the owner is receiving funds, not sending funds.

My understanding of a wire transfer is that, the buyer is sending cash, and once it leaves the buyer's account it's not retrievable.  The money is deposited, transferred, or collected on the other end of the transaction by the recipient.  It's a quick process and the money, once transferred, can not be retrieved.  If fraud has taken place; a lengthy and difficult investigation would follow and it's unlikely the funds will be recovered. 

Why would a renter want to use a wire transfer when a credit card offers protection?

I understand an owner might prefer a wire transfer, but it seems a poor chioce for a renter. 

How does the renter verify the identity of the owner? 

Am I overlooking a piece of the process?

I've read several posts about the use of wire transfers in Europe and some suggest we just don't get it here in the US.  How do people in Europe protect themselves?  Is there not any fraud?   I've used wire transfers in my work and understand the process from an institutional perspective (large university), but how does an individual perform their due diligence before wiring funds to someone they have little information about?   How do you detect fraud? Identity theft?  

Shouldn't renters be cautioned against wire transfers?  Informed of the potential for risk?

Thank you!