Witness describing events at the "second residence"

In recent times, a concerning trend of scams involving fake vacation apartments and luxury villas has been on the rise, not just in major vacation destinations like Paris, Mallorca, or the Canary Islands, but also in the North and Baltic Seas, and even in Upper Bavaria.

One such incident occurred in Grainau, Bavaria, where a family with two children booked a vacation apartment for 1500 euros on booking.com, only to find upon arrival that the apartment did not exist. Five other vacationers have fallen victim to the same scam this week, driving to the same non-existent address in Grainau.

The affected family reported the fraud to the police in Garmisch-Partenkirchen four weeks ago, and another case was reported at the end of July in Grainau where nine guests who had booked for 1650 euros on tripadvisor.de found the door locked.

These scams are not limited to independent websites but extend to common online platforms like booking.com, Airbnb, Tripadvisor, Check24, and others. Non-existent accommodations are advertised using artificial intelligence, or data and images of existing accommodations are misused to swindle large sums of money for a supposed booking.

Rosi Ostler, from guest management in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, is actively tackling this issue by scouring online portals for suspicious offers and reporting them to the platforms. Julia Zeller, a travel expert at the Consumer Center Bavaria, advises being more vigilant when booking, especially for offers that seem too good to be true. She suggests checking if the accommodation can be found via its address on Google Maps and warns against communication and payment outside of the platform.

In the Berchtesgaden region, every host and accommodation is listed in the local registration system, making it easier to verify the authenticity of offers. Christian Kausch, managing director of Tegernsee Tal Tourismus GmbH, mentions that guests often ask them to confirm the existence of hosts, but no cases of fraud are known at the TTT.

While cases of such scams in Bavaria are considered a "marginal phenomenon" by consumer protectionists, they do occur from time to time. The dark figure of cases is likely to be higher than the number reported to the police.

Booking.com admits that online fraud is a challenge, but given the global reach of the portal, actual cases are rare, and the overwhelming majority of suspicious activities are blocked in advance. Scammers no longer place fake ads only on fake websites, but also on common online platforms like the ones mentioned above.

The risk ultimately lies with the vacationer. Therefore, it is essential to remain vigilant and cautious when booking accommodations online, especially in popular vacation destinations.