CYBER criminals tried to swindle unsuspecting holidaymakers out of their money by altering the details of listings on Fairfax's holiday rental website, Stayz.com.au.
The cyber criminals set up a fake bank account and altered the contact details of the property listings, directing customers who thought they were booking a holiday to transfer money using Western Union.
Property owners who pay the website to feature their holiday homes said Fairfax had agreed to reimburse them for potential lost profit after initially refusing.
"I told them that 'you guys have failed with your security measures and you need to pay for it'," a property owner - who wished to remain anonymous - said.
A News Ltd journalist was contacted by a property manager yesterday morning warning of the breach after using the site to search for a property.
The managing agency said it had been contacting its customers because Stayz.com.au had failed to warn people about the hack.The hackers changed the contact details on property listings so that when customers booked a holiday, they were directed to send money to a bank account using a Western Union transfer.
"My account was hacked and my email and contact number was changed," the property owner said.
"I'm not worried, I'm more worried about what it can do for my brand."
It is unknown at this time how many customers were affected and how much money has been lost, but Fairfax says it was an "isolated incident''.
Anton Stanish, general manager of the travel marketplaces division Fairfax Digital, denied that Stayz had been hacked, claiming the property owner had likely been the victim of a phishing scam.
Mr Stanish said the property owner may have clicked on an insecure link that installed software on his computer that was capable of recording his Stayz account login.
The fraudsters were then able to alter the bank account and contact details for the listing in order to trick customers into sending them money.
"There is no security flaw in our system and we haven't been hacked," Mr Stanish said.
"From our point of view it comes back to roles and responsibility. We don't take part in any of the transactions. They take part between the property manager and the guest. All we do is introduce the guest to the property owner."
Mr Stanish said Stayz warns its property managers to be vigilant in protecting their account information as it was "as valuable as your banking login".
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