Airbnb guest says images were altered in false £12,000 damage claim
Airbnb has apologised to a woman after an apartment host falsely claimed she had caused thousands of pounds’ worth of damage and used images she says were digitally manipulated to back up his allegations.The London-based academic was refunded almost £4,300, and an internal review of how the case was dealt with has been launched at the short-term accommodation rental company.The incident highlights how cheap and easily available artificial intelligence software is now being used to manipulate images to give false evidence of what has happened in consumer complaints, according to one security expert.The woman, who is based in London, had booked the one-bedroom apartment in New York’s Manhattan for two-and-a-half months earlier this year to stay in while she was studying, but she decided to leave early after feeling unsafe in the area.Shortly after she left, the host told Airbnb that she had caused more than £12,000 worth of damage, and submitted pictures of an apparently cracked coffee table as part of his case.
His allegations included that she had stained a mattress with urine, and damaged a robot vacuum cleaner, a sofa, a microwave, a TV and an air conditioner.The woman denied any damage had been done to the apartment.She said she left it in good condition and had only two visitors during the seven weeks she stayed.A close examination of two pictures of the coffee table appears to show differences in the damage, leading the woman to believe they were digitally manipulated or generated by AI.She says the host was retaliating because she ended her tenancy early.
Airbnb initially told her “after careful review of the photos”, she would have to reimburse the host a total of £5,314.She appealed against the decision.“I informed them that I can provide testimony from an eyewitness who was with me during checkout and can attest under oath to the condition in which the property was left: clean, undamaged, and in good order,” she says.“I also clearly demonstrated visual discrepancies in images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host that show clear signs of fabrication.”She adds: “These inconsistencies are simply not possible in genuine, unedited photographs of the same object.
This should have immediately raised red flags and discredited the host’s claims if the evidence had been reviewed with even basic scrutiny, but Airbnb not only failed to identify this obvious manipulation, they entirely ignored my explanations and clear evidence that the material was fabricated.”Five days after Guardian Money raised questions about the case with Airbnb, the woman was told it had accepted her appeal and credited her account with £500.When she then said she was not going to rebook with Airbnb again, the company offered an £854 refund – a fifth of the cost of her booking.She refused to accept this and was refunded the full cost (£4,269) of her booking, and a negative review that the host had placed on her profile was taken down.“My concern is for future customers who may become victims of similar fraudulent claims and do not have the means to push back so much or give into paying out of fear of escalation,” the woman says.
“Given the ease with which such images can now be AI-generated and apparently accepted by Airbnb despite investigations, it should not be so easy for a host to get away with forging evidence in this way.”The man who complained about her is listed as a “superhost” on Airbnb, which the site says is someone who is experienced and highly rated.He did not respond to a request for comment.Airbnb said he had been warned for violating its terms and told he would be removed if there was another similar report.The company told him that it could not verify the images he submitted as part of his complaint.
Airbnb apologised and said there would be a review into how her case was handled.“We take damage claims seriously – our specialist team reviews all available evidence to reach proportionate outcomes for both parties, and to help ensure a fair approach, decisions can be appealed.”Serpil Hall, the director of economic crime at the management consultants Baringa, said that manipulating images and videos was now “easier than ever”, and software to do so was cheap, widely available and required little skill to use.In one recent case an insurance company found there had been an increase in false claims on vehicles and home repairs using photos that had been manipulated.“Recently, many companies have decided images can’t be taken at face value any more [during disputes], and there is a need for forensic tools and fraud intelligence models to validate them.
”
Wallabies can take heart from Lions series for litmus Tests against South Africa | Angus Fontaine
If Australian rugby is to take a key learning from the British & Irish Lions tour and adopt a credo for the upcoming Rugby Championship and the road to the 2027 World Cup, Will Skelton nailed it at half-time on Saturday: “We don’t take no itshay.”The 203cm, 145kg colossus’s performance was as big as he was in the Wallabies’ stirring victory in Sydney. But Skelton’s fighting words to his team - “Keep fighting. Keep fighting for each other. Keep fighting for the jersey” - and the pig Latin catchcry that followed was a crudity that offered perfect clarity to Joe Schmidt’s team
Research finds 89% of female rugby players experience pain wearing boots
Wearing boots designed for men causes discomfort for a majority of female rugby players, according to new research which finds as many as 89% of athletes experience pain from wearing shoes not built for women’s feet.With the Women’s Rugby World Cup coming to England in just over two weeks’ time IDA Sports, a footwear brand designed for female athletes, called out what it describes as the “iniquity” of boot design that leaves women not only lacking comfort when playing but exposed to a heightened risk of injury.After scanning nearly 1,000 feet, of amateurs and players from across Premiership Women’s Rugby, and surveying a further 330, IDA Sports found that comfort was the driving factor behind a player’s boot choice, but one that was rarely met. While 78% said comfort was a top priority, nearly nine in 10 spoke of discomfort.“The findings of our many years of research and development … illustrate the inequities that women athletes face when it comes to footwear,” said Laura Youngson, co-founder and chief executive of IDA Sports
The Breakdown | The Lions will endure … but who can we expect in the squad for 2029?
The average worker bee, in the busiest months of the year, generally lives for up to seven weeks. Talk about a short and sweet existence. It is not dissimilar with British & Irish Lions tours. One moment players are winning a major series, the next their team abruptly ceases to exist. That’s all, folks, unless you can make the next trip in four years
NFL preseason storylines: Cowboys chaos, the Browns‘ QB circus and Aaron Rodgers’ last dance
With the start of the regular season almost in sight, we take a tour of the league’s most compelling plotsLeave it to Jerry Jones to stink up the most optimistic time of year. The Cowboys owner has once again fumbled a contract negotiation with one of his stars. Despite fellow 2021 draftees Penei Sewell, Patrick Surtain II and Ja’Marr Chase signing long-term extensions, the Cowboys have allowed talks with Parsons to drag on.Last week, Parsons accused Jones of trying to circumvent his agent in negotiations and formally requested a trade.It’s fun to imagine Parsons on the trade block
TNT Sports secures live rights to England’s Ashes series in Australia
England’s attempt to regain the Ashes this winter will be broadcast live in the UK by TNT Sports. After agreeing a one-year deal with Cricket Australia over the weekend TNT now has the rights for all of England’s winter tours, as the broadcaster had deals in place to cover both white-ball series in New Zealand and Sri Lanka either side of the Ashes.TNT’s predecessor, BT Sport, bought the rights for the past two Ashes tours so the new deal may be inauspicious for Ben Stokes’s side as their viewers have not seen England win a single game. England have lost 13 of the past 15 Tests they have played in Australia, which shows the size of the task for the touring side this winter.TNT has increasingly become the home of England’s winter cricket deals in recent years and has long-term rights in place with New Zealand, West Indies and Pakistan, as well as securing a late deal to cover England’s five-Test series in India last winter
The sacking of Simon Goodwin was ruthless but the right call for the Demons | Martin Pegan
Simon Goodwin will forever remain in Melbourne folklore as the coach that broke the curse – the coach that finally followed in the footsteps of club great Norm Smith when he helped end almost six decades of misery with a fairytale premiership. For now, Goodwin is one of only four coaches to lead the Demons to a VFL/AFL flag. But the one-time powerhouse club is right to look forward rather than backward, in the hope of finding the next coach to take it to the promised land.Melbourne’s decision to sack a premiership-winner is among the most ruthless the AFL has seen in recent years. It has become all too common for head coaches to be given extra time, whether to build a team from the ground up or to turn around an unexpected decline
How to make perfect fresh tomato pasta – recipe | Felicity Cloake's How to make the perfect …
The Greyhound, Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire: ‘An oligarch’s saloon bar teetering on the edge of chintz’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants
What? They’re doing raves in the morning now? With coffee? At a cafe?
What to drink with seafood? Albariño is its natural companion | Hannah Crosbie on drinks
Helen Goh’s recipe for black forest crepe cake | The sweet spot
I tried 17 rice cookers to find the best model in the US: here are my favorites