No 10 Downing Street advertised as holiday let in fake listing on travel giant Booking.com

No 10 Downing Street advertised as holiday let in fake listing on travel giant Booking.com Consumer group Which? says it was able to advertise the Prime Minister's 10 Downing Street for let on Booking.com for several months - raising big concerns about the online giant's safeguards Online travel giant Booking.com has been accused of exposing customers to “glaring” security flaws after researchers were able to list 10 Downing Street as a holiday let. Consumer watchdog Which? said it was allowed to set-up a fake listing for the PM’s official home - complete with the address and even a photo of the famous black front door - within minutes. Which? said the website processed a payment from one of its researchers using a different account for a week-long. The ease in setting-up the bogus listing comes despite Booking.com claiming it uses advanced AI and multiple security controls. Which? said it had repeatedly exposed Booking.com’s security gaps and received dozens of complaints from people receiving scam messages on the platform, plus heard of hundreds of travellers arriving at properties to discover that the listing was fake. Those trying to contact Booking.com to complaint or for help were initially directed to what Which? said was an ineffective AI chatbot. To test the website’s systems, a Which? researcher listed a property on Booking.com in mid-June, headlined ‘1 bedroom apartment in the heart of London’, including the exact address - 10 Downing Street, London - its location on a map, and a photo of the most famous front door in Britain. The listing was set so users had to request a stay, so nobody could book automatically without being approved. Which? was also able to add a fake review, giving it 10/10. After writing the review, Booking.com sent a message saying that it would be ‘checked by our team of moderators’ - but the review appeared almost immediately, despite what Which? said was was obviously a joke, including a reference to how enjoyable it was hanging out with Larry The Cat. The listing was not removed until August 27, even after Which? said it had made Booking.com aware of its findings. It warned it showed "glaring gaps in Booking.com's security". Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel said: “If Booking.com’s so-called sophisticated AI systems can’t spot that 10 Downing Street is not a holiday rental, then it’s no wonder scammers can exploit the platform so easily. “It would be laughable that we were able to list the UK’s most famous address for rent, if the consequences weren’t so devastating for holidaymakers, who risk losing thousands of pounds to bogus listings and phishing links. “Booking.com’s checks are clearly unfit for purpose, and the Prime Minister must now urge Ofcom to use the Online Safety Act to crack down on irresponsible online platforms that leave consumers wide open to fraud.” A spokesperson for Booking.com said: “This limited test is not a true reflection of the experience of millions of listings or reviews published on our platform. “The property added by Which? was not visible and ‘live’ for the time period referenced*, and as it was not open and bookable, some of our automatic fraud controls were not triggered to completely remove the closed listing. “Of the other examples shared by Which?, not all listings have been proven to be fraudulent.” It added: “We can confirm that we use a range of checks and verification measures to help protect our platform, alongside technologies including artificial intelligence. “Together, these measures help us detect and remove the majority of fraudulent listings within 24 hours.”