Hotel booking site confirms accommodation partners in the north west of England have been targeted.
It may be a little over the top to say it’s one of the biggest things to hit Liverpool since the Beatles, but the city hosting this year’s Eurovision is certainly causing a stir.
With people desperate to be part of the event and tickets for the grand final selling out in 36 minutes, hotel rooms across the north west of England are at a premium.
The final is on May 13 with most accommodation in the city in the days around that date already sold out, but some customers who have booked rooms are being warned they may be at risk of scammers who are believed to be targeting hotel chains.
Travel company Booking.com has confirmed that some of its “accommodation partners had been targeted by phishing emails”, with a number of accounts affected by cyber attacks which, it says, were “quickly locked”.
But the fear is that some customer data has been compromised, with the BBC confirming that a number of fans with accommodation booked have already been the subject of bogus queries.
One fan with a booking in the city was contacted by someone claiming to be representing the accommodation provider, asking if they needed parking and then claiming there was an issue with their payment.
The fan thought the query real as they had their details, before he received a text message from his bank which informed him that someone was trying to scam him out of money – the result being his bank were able to cancel a £800 transfer.
Those who may be concerned are advised to speak directly with their hotel, or whoever is supplying their accommodation.
The Eurovision final will take place at the M&S Bank Arena on the waterfront in Liverpool on Saturday May 13, the first to be held in the UK for 25 years, the country staging the event on behalf of 2022 winners Ukraine. Along with the final, there will be two semi-finals on Tuesday May 9 and Thursday May 11.
Ten qualify from each semi-final, and they will join Ukraine, UK, Italy, France, Spain and Germany who are already guaranteed a spot in the final.
