This post was first published on my live and work abroad website LiveWorkPlayTravel. I have published it on Discover Australia Now as it is very relevant to people travelling Australia. Particularly those who use Booking.com to book accommodation – like myself.

The popular accommodation reservation platform Booking.com confirmed on Monday that hackers had accessed some customers’ personal data. The data included names, email addresses, phone numbers and booking details. 

Headquartered in Amsterdam, the company hosts more than 30 million accommodation listings worldwide. 

In an email to affected customers, Booking.com said information associated with a previous reservation, and anything that they had shared with accommodation providers had been breached. They continued to say, “We are dedicated to the security and data protection of our guests”. 

A spokesperson for Booking.com said that after discovering the suspicious activity by an unauthorised third party, security measures had been put in place to contain the issue. They updated the PIN number for those reservations concerned and informed guests. 

How does the Booking.com Data Breach Affect You?

It has been recommended to use a VPN. And worth pausing before clicking on any unexpected messages. If you do get any messages, go back to the Booking.com platform directly to double check information. Particularly if you have made a booking recently.