A huge Airbnb scam is taking over London | Wired UK

A wonderful tale about how a handful of individuals are purchasing huge quantities of micro-apartments in London, renting them out under thousands of fake accounts across sites like Airbnb, and making a huge amount of money from it in the process (whilst obviously side-stepping rental laws, health and safety requirements, etc.).

As the short-term rental goldrush gathers pace, Airbnb empires are being rapidly scaled and monetised, with professional operators creating scores of fake accounts, fake listings and fake reviews to run rings around Airbnb, local law enforcement and the guests who place their trust in the platform.
Yet, for many, this is what Airbnb has become: a thin sharing-economy veneer hiding a vast slurry of unscrupulous profiteers.

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  • A wonderful tale about how a handful of individuals are purchasing huge quantities of micro-apartments in London, renting them out under thousands of fake accounts across sites like Airbnb, and [&#8230;]
  • Murray Adcock.
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