Airbnb Host Accused of Using AI-Generated Images for False $16,000 Damage Claim

Airbnb guest says host used AI-generated images in false $9,000 damages claim

Serving tech enthusiasts for over 25 years. TechSpot means tech analysis and advice you can trust. WTF?! One of the many fears about AI use becoming widespread is that people can now alter images - sometimes convincingly - without any technical skills. An example of this surfaced recently when an Airbnb guest said a host manipulated photos in a false £12,000 ($9,041) damage claim. The incident took place earlier this year when a London-based woman booked a one-bedroom apartment in New York's Manhattan for two-and-a-half months while she was studying, reports The Guardian. She decided to leave the apartment early because she felt unsafe in the area. Not long after she left, the host told Airbnb that the woman had caused thousands of dollars in damage to his apartment, including a cracked coffee table, mattress stained with urine, and a damaged robot vacuum cleaner, sofa, microwave, TV, and air conditioner. The woman denied the claim and said she had only two guests during the seven weeks she was in the apartment. She argued that the host, who is listed as a "superhost" on the Airbnb platform, was making the claim as payback for her ending the tenancy early. Part of the woman's defence were two photos of the allegedly damaged coffee table. The crack appears different in each image, leading the woman to claim they had been digitally manipulated, likely using AI. Airbnb initially said that after carefully reviewing the photos, the woman would have to reimburse the host £5,314 ($7,053). She appealed the decision. Five days after Guardian Money questioned Airbnb about the case, the company accepted her appeal and credited her account with £500 ($663). After the woman said she would not use its services again, the firm offered to refund a fifth of the cost of her booking (£854, or $1,133). She refused this, too, and Airbnb apologized, refunded her the full £4,269 ($5,665) cost of her stay, and took down the negative review that the host had placed on her profile. "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." Airbnb told the host that it could not verify the images he submitted as part of the complaint. The company said he had been warned for violating its terms and told he would be removed if there was another similar report. It is also carrying out a review into how the case was handled. AI is being used to manipulate images and videos in a wide range of false claims, including vehicle and home insurance claims. The tools' cheapness and ease of use have made this practice incredibly popular. It also means it's even harder to believe anything you see online these days is real.

Airbnb Host Allegedly Edited Images to Make False Damages Claim Against Guest

An Airbnb guest who stayed at an apartment in New York City has been refunded $5,730 (£4,300) and received an apology from the company after the host allegedly manipulated photos to make false claims against her. The Guardian reports that a "London-based academic" left a long-term rental early due to not feeling safe in the neighborhood and when she did, the host told Airbnb that she had caused over $16,000 (£12,000) in damages. The guest denied all allegations, maintaining that the apartment was left in good condition and that she had only two visitors during her stay. She reviewed the images that the host had submitted as proof and noticed discrepancies in them, leading her to believe that they had been edited -- possibly with AI. Two images of a coffee table show similar cracks on the top but are not quite identical which, the guest says, are "simply not possible in genuine, unedited photographs of the same object." After the host had submitted the photos to Airbnb, the company told the guest that she would have to pay $7,082 (£5,314) for the damage. She appealed. "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 tells The Guardian. "I also clearly demonstrated visual discrepancies in images of the same object (wooden table) provided by the host that show clear signs of fabrication." The woman says that the photo should have "immediately raised red flags and discredited the host's claims." But the guest says she was ignored until she contacted Guardian Money which pressed Airbnb on the case, after which the platform reversed its decision. She was eventually offered a full refund of $5,690 (£4,269). "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 guest 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." A security expert tells the newspaper that the barrier to manipulating photos and video is now lower than ever before; software is inexpensive, widely available, and requires little skill.

Airbnb guest accused of causing $16K in property damage claims host...

Airbnb has apologized to a woman after her host used artificial intelligence to claim she had caused thousands of dollars worth of damage. The incident took place earlier this year when a London-based woman booked a one-bedroom apartment in Manhattan for a two-and-a-half month stay, The Guardian reported. She decided to leave the Airbnb early because she felt unsafe in the area, only staying for seven weeks. Shortly after she left, the host claimed that she caused $16,000 (£12,000) in damages. He submitted pictures of a seemingly cracked coffee table and alleged that the guest stained a mattress with urine and damaged a robot vacuum cleaner, a sofa, a microwave, a TV and an air conditioner. The woman denied that she had done any damage to the apartment and told the short-term rental platform that she only had two visitors during her entire stay. She closely looked at the two pictures of the coffee table the host submitted and noticed differences in the damage, leading her to believe they were generated or manipulated by AI. She believed that the host -- who was listed as a "superhost" on Airbnb -- was likely retaliating because she ended her rental early. Initially, Airbnb told the guest that "after careful review of the photos," she would have to pay the host a little over $7,000 (£5,314) -- but she appealed 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," the guest told The Guardian. "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 continued. "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 questioned Airbnb about the case, the woman was told her appeal was accepted and her account was credited with about $670 (£500), but when she said she wouldn't be booking with Airbnb again, the company offered her a refund of $1,140 (£854) -- which was just a fifth of the booking cost. The woman refused the offer and was eventually refunded the entire cost of her booking, about $5700 (£4,269), and a negative review on her profile written by the host was removed. Airbnb apologized to the woman and said they would launch an internal review into how the case was handled. They also warned the host for violating their terms and informed him that he would be removed if there were any similar reports. "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," Airbnb said. The woman said she fears that future customers may become victims of similar scams, as AI can be used to manipulate photos. Not everyone has the means to push back the way she did or may give in and pay due to fear of escalation. "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," she said.