Booking.com targeted in EU investigation into phishing scams, fraudulent listings

By Foo Yun Chee

BRUSSELS, Oct 21 (Reuters) - EU tech regulators will investigate whether online hotel reservation website Booking.com is doing enough to weed out fraudulent listings and phishing scams to comply with EU online content rules, the European Commission said on Wednesday.

The Commission, which is the EU tech and competition enforcer, said it opened an investigation following a preliminary probe and after analysing risk assessment reports submitted by Booking.com this year and the previous three years.

Big online platforms are required to do more to tackle illegal and harmful content on their sites under the bloc's Digital Services Act, or risk fines of as much as 6% of their global annual turnover for violations.

Booking.com said it was engaging constructively with the Commission. "Security, trust and the protection of personal information are top priorities at Booking.com," a spokesperson for the company said.

"We remain committed to working with relevant governments, regulators, law enforcement and industry partners to combat cybercrime and online fraud, and protect travelers and partners."

The EU investigation will focus on fake listings — such as for non-existent properties — impersonation fraud and non-compliant accommodation offers, and whether Booking.com has properly identified, assessed and mitigated the systemic risks related to these.

Regulators will also look into phishing scams exploiting Booking.com's reservation and guest data shared with accommodation providers, the Commission said.

A third element will be paid-for boosted listings not clearly identifiable as advertisements. Booking.com is part of Booking Holdings.

"Europeans should be able to book their holidays without fear of being scammed," EU tech chief Henna Virkkunen said in a statement.

"The Digital Services Act sets clear responsibilities on platforms to address these risks, and we must ensure that the leading booking platform in Europe takes those responsibilities seriously," she said.

(Reporting by Foo Yun Chee; Editing by Jan Harvey)