Hey there, Joseph here with something interesting from the digital underground. With the rise of violence among hackers, some have turned to an unexpected helper: Airbnb. Basically, hackers are going on the run to avoid being kidnapped, assaulted, or robbed and specifically turning to the rental giant. The practice is now so common that it has its own turn of phrase: "Airbnb hopping." The full story follows below.

Hackers are renting Airbnbs under false identities after they’ve been doxed in a now common practice known as “Airbnb hopping,” according to multiple chat logs and screenshots reviewed by 404 Media. The hackers are constantly changing locations to stay one step ahead of violent criminals who hunt out targets to rob or physically assault.

The practice highlights the sharp increase of violence in the digital underground, with young criminals often hiring accomplices to steal cryptocurrency from one another, throw bricks or shoot weapons at targets’ homes, or even kidnap them. It also shows how the multibillion dollar accommodation giant Airbnb has become an unwitting piece of infrastructure for serious criminals.

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“Keep Airbnb hopping before I get to u,” one message posted in an online group chat reads. Typically, criminals will not stay in any single location for too long before moving onto their next rental, the messages show.

One message discussing Airbnb hopping mentions Oregon. Another says a suspected hacker was moving between rentals in London. A third message posted along a hacker’s alleged address in Florida said the address may not be up to date because the person is renting Airbnbs and constantly relocating. Another screenshot obtained by 404 Media indicates someone fled to an Airbnb shortly before robbers descended on their home.

In one case, one person appears to have moved to short term rentals after someone placed a hidden camera outside of his apartment door for an extended period of time which captured him coming and going, according to videos and photos uploaded online.

In some cases, criminals figure out their target’s current Airbnb address and share these online too, one message shows.

Chat logs also show criminals trying to buy current Airbnb accounts that already have positive reviews. Another message adds that criminals rent the accommodation under false identities. 

The need for this constant movement is because of the prevalence of physical violence among young hackers and fraudsters today. Often when hackers steal a large amount of cryptocurrency, they have to worry not just about law enforcement tracking them down, but other criminals too. 404 Media has reviewed multiple videos of criminals in turn being robbed for their cryptocurrency. Sometimes these robberies can include physical torture too. 

Airbnb told 404 Media in an emailed statement that “Airbnb is built on trust and we’ve invested in a range of measures that aim to give members of our community confidence that guests and Hosts are who they say they are. We require booking guests, primary Hosts and Co-Hosts getting booked on Airbnb to be identity verified for all stays and we’ve put sophisticated systems and technologies in place to help facilitate this. Anyone who violates our policies, including by attempting to use fraudulent identity documents, may be removed from the platform.”

“While no identification process is foolproof, identity verification is an important step in helping users to feel confident that guests and Hosts on Airbnb are genuine, and to continue to build trust within our global community,” the statement added.

404 Media’s earlier coverage of a particular SIM swapper showed he performed much of his alleged criminal activity from Airbnbs too.