Eurovision: hotels warned of scam targeting customers

Hotels offering rooms during the Eurovision Song Contest in Liverpool are being warned about a scam targeting customers online.

Online travel agent Booking.com said some of its accommodation partners had received phishing emails that led to some accounts being compromised.

One customer on Twitter wrote: "If you have a hotel booked in Liverpool for @Eurovision via @bookingcom please be aware of a scam going on. Do not reply, do not click on any links!".

The user then shared a screenshot of a WhatsApp conversation from someone who claimed to be a member of a hotel team, asking for payment details.

Booking.com denied there had been a security breach and said any impacted user accounts had been locked to reduce further risk.

A Booking.com spokesperson said: "[We] have been actively supporting our partners, as well as any potentially impacted customers. With the millions of bookings we facilitate on a weekly basis, such instances thankfully remain very rare.

"We continue to make security and data protection a top priority and are constantly adding additional security controls, as well as extra precautionary measures to support our partners."

The spokesperson added that the site advised hotels to install antivirus software, check computers for malware, use protected passwords and add two-factor authentication for email accounts.

Eurovision tickets went on sale on at midday on 7 March and sold out within 30 minutes.

This year's event will be held in Liverpool between 9 May and 11 May with the Grand Final on 13 May.

Ukraine won the 2022 contest while the UK came second, but it was ruled too dangerous to hold the 2023 competition in Ukraine due to the ongoing Russian invasion.

Many hotel rooms on the night of the final had already sold out last year when Liverpool was announced as the host city.

Image: Elenitsa / Shutterstock