Fraud, phishing, hidden advertising: EU takes on Booking.com
The EU Commission is taking action against the travel portal Booking.com. An official investigation under the Digital Services Act is intended to clarify whether the platform is doing enough to combat fraudulent offers, phishing and hidden advertising.
EU checks Booking.com
The European Commission today initiated formal proceedings against the travel portal Booking.com. The basis is the Digital Services Act, DSA for short. The Brussels authority had already classified the platform as a “very large online platform” in April 2023, which means the site is subject to particularly strict standards. The current focus of the investigation is the suspicion that the company is not adequately protecting consumers in Europe from fraudulent accommodations and data theft.
Criminals are increasingly using the platform to offer users non-existent properties or to make payments using stolen identities. The commission had previously evaluated risk reports that the company had submitted for this and the past three years. EU representatives describe the platform’s previous protective measures as completely inadequate.
Phishing and false advertisements
Like the news agency Reuters reported, targeted phishing attacks are the focus of European supervision. Fraudsters take over the accounts of accommodation operators and gain access to users’ reservation data. They then request guests to transfer alleged remaining amounts via the internal messaging system. If the scam succeeds, the money is usually lost. Sometimes the fraud is only noticed at the holiday destination when users find themselves standing in front of locked doors or find out from neighbors that the holiday home they have booked is not even for rent.
Since Booking.com is headquartered in the Netherlands, the EU is in close contact with the supervisory authority there. According to EU officials, a Dutch consumer report recorded 1,072 fraud reports about Booking.com in the first part of 2026.
Hidden advertising in the ranking
In addition to security problems, the European Union is also examining the transparency of search results. Accommodation operators can increase their visibility on the portal by paying a higher commission. According to the strict requirements of the DSA, search hits pushed up in this way must be clearly and clearly recognizable to users as paid advertising.
Users must be able to easily understand whether an accommodation is listed high up due to appropriate filters or payment. EU technology chief Henna Virkkunen stressed that European citizens must be able to book their holidays without fear of fraud. If the requirements are violated, the portal faces fines of up to six percent of its global annual turnover.
