49 German hotels breached through phishing – most affected nation
Norton researchers identified 350 hacked booking platform accounts globally across 50 countries, including 49 in Germany – the highest number of any single nation.
Booking.com accommodation compromised through phishing attacks
Security researchers from Norton have identified 350 hacked accommodation providers globally across 50 countries, according to their own statements. According to BILD, 49 of these are in Germany – more than in any other country examined. Affected are guesthouses, holiday apartments and larger hotels that offer their services via Booking.com or Airbnb.
The attacks follow a pattern known as "Reservation Hijacking". Criminals use genuine booking data from guests to send deceptively authentic payment requests. Victims believe they are communicating with their hotel or the booking platform and may transfer money to fraudsters.
In April 2026, Booking.com informed customers that unauthorised parties had accessed booking information for certain reservations. Names, telephone numbers, email addresses and booking details were affected. Subsequently, numerous victims reported phishing messages containing precisely this information.
How the perpetrators obtained the data remains unclear. The information does not necessarily have to come directly from Booking.com or Airbnb. No officially announced data breach has been documented to date. Small property owners with poorly secured IT systems could also have overlooked attacks or kept them quiet.
Norton transmitted its findings to Europol, which forwarded the information to law enforcement authorities in the affected countries. The company has opted not to name the affected accommodation providers, as this could lead to incorrect conclusions about individual businesses.
Source: BILD