I'm going to the Netherlands in a few weeks, booked a hotel room via booking.com, as you do, and now received this bizarre WhatsApp message from a Brazilian phone number:
Dear xxxxxxx,
This message is regarding your reservation at “yyyyyyyyyy” for 09.04.2026 - 13.04.2026.
To keep your booking active, our system requires a short guest detail verification. This step is mandatory for all reservations, including prepaid ones.
This process:
1. Free of charge
2. Does not affect your stay or conditions
3. Takes only a moment to complete
Please open the link below and follow the instructions in our hotel support chat:
(Link -> See above in the title)
Complete the check within 12 hours to avoid automatic cancellation of your booking.
Sincerely,
Diana
Support Team
What on earth is this? It's 99.99% a scam, as it is neither coming from booking.com nor the hotel website. The demand to do this within 12 hours also looks extremely fishy.
The thing is, my full name, the timing of the stay and the hotel name are all perfectly correct. How the heck did they get my details? Has anybody had a similar experience after using booking.com, or might it be via the hotel?