Before making a payment, check the photos using reverse image search, the account number on the VAT taxpayer whitelist, and the lessor in the registers, then call the property using a number not provided by the advertiser. The absence of an apartment in the Central Register of Hotel Facilities is not proof of fraud, as accommodations, apartments, and cottages are registered in the municipal registry. A deposit is returned in double the amount if canceled by the lessor, while an advance payment is returned at its nominal value, and there is no 14-day withdrawal period for reservations with a specific date of stay. A reasonable upfront payment is 10–30% of the price. The safest payment method is through the platform system or by card, as a card allows for chargeback. Regular transfers and BLIK to a phone number are practically irreversible.
- Part 1: How to Recognize a Fake Accommodation Offer: eight types of fraud, real messages from scammers, warning signs
- Part 2: How to Check an Offer and Pay Safely (this guide): verification in ten minutes, photos, registration and records, control call, advance payment or deposit, contract, payment method
- Part 3: Money Already Sent: first hours, bank complaint, chargeback, notification with a template, lawsuit, Polonia
Do you already know the types of fraud and warning signs described in Part 1? Now it's time to check a specific offer and make a reservation. This section collects everything that happens between the decision to "take it" and sending the money: verification in ten steps, photos, property registration and records, control call, the difference between an advance payment and a deposit, the contract, and the choice of payment method. If the money has already been sent, go directly to Part 3.
Verification of the Offer in Ten Minutes
The order goes from the cheapest signal to the most expensive. The first three steps detect most frauds and take just a few minutes together. If the offer passes all ten checks, the risk drops to a level where you can safely pay the advance.
- Check three to five photos using reverse image search
The most effective single tool in the entire set. Instructions below.
- Check the domain age if the property has its own website
dns.pl/whois: a domain sold two weeks ago with "family guesthouse for 20 years" ends the topic.
- Find the address on Google Maps and view Street View
Together with the photo history. This way, you check the building, not the lessor.
- Enter the NIP into CEIDG or KRS
Status of the entry, date of business commencement, PKD codes. For accommodations, expect section 55 (55.10.Z hotels, 55.20.Z tourist accommodation facilities and short-term lodging places, 55.30.Z campgrounds) or 68.20.Z. A company registered three weeks ago plus a request for high prepayment is a red flag.
- Check the account number on the VAT taxpayer whitelist
podatki.gov.pl/wykaz-podatnikow-vat-wyszukiwarka/: search by account number and compare the entity with the offer.
- Search for the property in the registry
A hotel, motel, guesthouse, campground, tourist house, or hostel can be found in the Central Register of Hotel Facilities. Accommodations, apartments, and cottages are in the municipal registry. Details below, as it's easy to draw a false conclusion here.
- Check the domain on the CERT Poland Warning List
lista.cert.pl: enter the domain and see if it has already been reported.
- Request the land and mortgage register number
For longer stays or large amounts. In section II, you can check if the owner is the same person to whom you are supposed to transfer money.
- Call and ask for a short live video
This is a test that a scammer will not pass. Details below.
- Draft a contract and pay an advance, not the full amount
By transfer to an account matching the entity's name or by card. Never use BLIK to a phone number and never from a link sent in a message.
Photos Reveal Scammers the Fastest
A scammer almost never takes photos themselves. They steal photos from another ad, from a real guesthouse's website, or from a hotel portal in another country. Reverse image search checks exactly that.
On a computer. Open images.google.com, click the camera icon, and drag the file or paste the photo address. In Chrome, you can simply right-click the photo and select search with Google Lens. Repeat on yandex.com/images, as Yandex regularly finds copies of interiors and buildings that Google does not see. Finally, use tineye.com with sorting from the oldest: if the same photo has been hanging since 2017 on a Croatian hotel's website, the topic is closed.
On a phone. On Android, open the saved photo in Google Photos and tap the Lens icon. On iPhone, take a screenshot, open it in Photos, tap the info button, and select visual search. Yandex and TinEye work in the browser: upload a file from the gallery.
Two tricks that increase effectiveness
Check each photo separately. Scammers mix stolen photos with their own so that the most impressive one cannot be found.
Crop a distinctive detail (view from the window, tile pattern, unusual furniture) and search by it. This bypasses simple modifications: mirror images, cropping, filters.
AI-Generated Photos and Descriptions
More and more offers are generated rather than stolen. In that case, reverse search will find nothing because that photo has not existed before. However, there are many signals.
In photos: geometry that does not close (moldings diverging in the corner, a countertop blending into the wall), a mirror showing another room, shadows from two directions. Unreadable text on signs, books, and remotes: letters "almost Polish" but unreadable, which remains the most reliable single signal. A repeating floor or tile pattern. Outlets in a standard that does not exist in Poland. An ideally empty, catalog-like space, without a remote, cables, and a trash can, and a sea next to mountains outside the window.
In descriptions: impeccable Polish without a single local specificity (a store, a bus stop, the host's name) and superlatives like "oasis of peace." Contradiction with the map: "one hundred meters from the beach," but on Google, it's three kilometers. Paste the entire sentence in quotes into the search engine. If the same text hangs in five ads, it's a template.
A test that a scammer will not pass
Ask for a short video recorded now: "please walk with the phone from the front door to the balcony, show the view, and say today's date." A lessor who has the property will record this in a minute. A scammer with an image generator or someone else's photos will not record it.
The second variant: ask for original photos straight from the phone, not screenshots and not through a messenger that removes metadata. Consistent EXIF data with location speaks for authenticity. Their absence does not prove anything, but refusal to record a video does.
Do not rely on "AI detectors" that can be wrong both ways. Resolve verification of identity and address, not image assessment.
Property Registries: The Place Where It's Easiest to Get Confused
The Central Register of Hotel Facilities (turystyka.gov.pl/cwoh/index) contains only categorized hotel facilities: hotels, motels, guesthouses, campgrounds, tourist houses, and hostels. They are categorized by the provincial governor.
Private accommodations, guest rooms, short-term apartments, agritourism, and summer cottages are not in the CWOH. They are subject to mandatory registration in the registry of other facilities providing hotel services (Article 39(3) of the Act of August 29, 1997, on hotel services and the services of tour guides and tourist guides). The registry is maintained by the village mayor, town mayor, or city president responsible for the location of the property, regardless of the number of accommodation places.
The application works both ways. The absence of an apartment in the CWOH is not proof of fraud, as such facilities are not defined there. However, a property advertising itself as a "hotel" or "guesthouse with three stars" that is not in the CWOH uses a generic name without basis, which says something about the advertiser.
Look for municipal registries in the Public Information Bulletin of the municipality: search for "registry of other facilities providing hotel services" with the name of the municipality. There is no central search engine, and municipalities publish registries unevenly, so the absence of an entry is a signal, not proof. The easiest way is to ask the lessor for the registry number in the municipal registry. An honest person knows it because they arranged it themselves.
Registers: What You Can Check and What You Cannot
| Register | Address | What You Can Check | Limitation |
|---|---|---|---|
| VAT Taxpayer Whitelist | podatki.gov.pl/wykaz-podatnikow-vat-wyszukiwarka/ | Whether the account number belongs to that entity; searching by NIP, REGON, name, and account number | Only active VAT taxpayers. Private accounts are not published: lack of result does not prove fraud, but a "company" asking for payment to a private account is a signal |
| CEIDG | ceidg.gov.pl | Status of the entry (active, suspended, deleted), date of commencement, address, PKD | Only sole proprietorships and partners in civil partnerships |
| KRS | wyszukiwarka-krs.ms.gov.pl | Whether the company exists and is not in liquidation, address, method of representation | The current excerpt is free and has the power of an official document |
| Land and Mortgage Registers | ekw.ms.gov.pl | Section II: owner; section III: warnings and enforcement; section IV: mortgages | Cannot be searched by address; the register number is needed. Browsing is free |
| WHOIS Database for .pl Domains | dns.pl/whois | Date of domain creation, registrar, DNS servers | Subscriber data for individuals are confidential |
| CERT Poland Warning List | lista.cert.pl | Whether the domain has already been reported as dangerous | Mainly phishing and malware. You will not find a fake ad on OLX there |
A Phone Call That Decides
One phone call resolves more than all registers, provided that you call a number not provided by the advertiser. Find the property yourself (on Google, Booking.com, Google Maps) and call the number from its own website. Ask directly: "Do you have an offer on OLX and do you accept payments to an account starting with...".
Also ask about things not in the ad and that cannot be guessed: the bus number from the station, whether there is an oven in the kitchen, what the nearest store is called, where guests park when the parking lot is full. A long, general, and evasive answer also says something.
Advance Payment and Deposit Are Two Different Things
This distinction determines what will happen to your money in case of cancellation, whether by you or the lessor. Article 394 of the Civil Code states that if one party fails to perform the contract, the other may withdraw from the contract without setting an additional deadline and keep the received deposit, and if they gave it, demand double the amount. Upon contract performance, the deposit is credited towards the price. In case of contract termination or if the non-performance occurred due to reasons for which neither party is responsible, the deposit is returned without the double amount.
An advance payment does not have its own definition in the Civil Code. It is simply a part of the payment, settled under general rules.
| Deposit | Advance Payment | |
|---|---|---|
| Basis | Article 394 of the Civil Code | No specific provision |
| You cancel | the lessor keeps the entire amount | subject to refund |
| The lessor cancels | returns double the amount | returns the nominal amount |
| Contract performed | credited towards the price | credited towards the price |
| Force majeure or fault of both parties | refund, without double amount | refund |
The conclusion is less obvious than it seems. For a tourist, an advance payment is more beneficial because you will recover it upon cancellation. However, a lessor who proposes a deposit is paradoxically more credible than one who writes "non-refundable prepayment." The deposit works both ways and exposes them to returning double the amount if they cancel the stay.
The nature of the payment is determined by the content of the contract, not the title of the transfer. Write directly: "amount X constitutes a deposit within the meaning of Article 394 of the Civil Code" or "amount X constitutes an advance payment subject to refund in case of...". Also describe the title of the transfer precisely, e.g., "deposit for the stay from 1–8.08.2026, ul. Nadmorska 5/2, Ustka, contract dated 20.06.2026", as this is good evidence in a criminal case.
A reasonable upfront payment is 10–30% of the stay price. A demand for one hundred percent by transfer to a private account because "the promotional price is valid only today" is a classic scheme.
There is no "14 days to withdraw" from accommodation reservations
Many people believe that any contract concluded online can be withdrawn within 14 days. For accommodation, this is not true. Article 38(1)(12) of the Consumer Rights Act excludes the right of withdrawal for contracts for the provision of accommodation services, other than for residential purposes, (...) if the contract specifies the day or period of service provision.
A reservation with a specific date of stay cannot be canceled "statutorily". Only what you agreed upon matters, so write the cancellation conditions before making the payment.
Contract: What to Write Before Sending Money
The good news is that a rental agreement for a period of up to one year does not require a written form. Article 660 of the Civil Code requires writing only for the rental of real estate or premises for a period longer than one year. An exchange of emails or messages plus confirmation of the transfer is sufficient evidence in civil and criminal proceedings.
In practice, choose email instead of a messenger, as it is a durable medium that the other party cannot delete from you. Also, take screenshots of all correspondence with the visible number or address of the sender and dates.
What should be included in the contract or at least in the confirming email:
- Parties: name and surname or company name of the lessor, address, PESEL or NIP, phone, email; the tenant similarly.
- Basis for disposing of the premises: a statement that the lessor is the owner (preferably with the land and mortgage register number) or has the right to sublet; optionally the registry number in the municipal registry.
- Detailed description of the property: full address with apartment number, area, number of rooms and sleeping places, floor, equipment, parking space, balcony, garden.
- Term of stay with check-in and check-out times, number of people, rules regarding pets.
- Total price and all additional fees: cleaning, bedding and towels, utilities (lump sum or according to the meter), local fee, parking, late check-out. This is the most common source of disputes with honest lessors.
- Deposit or advance payment: amount, clear qualification, payment deadline, and account number along with the name of its holder.
- Cancellation conditions: specific time thresholds and separately what happens if the lessor cancels.
- Deposit (amount, return deadline, deduction rules), method of handing over keys, and contact for the person on-site. When checking in, take your own photos of the premises and meters.
- Invoice or receipt: request directly. An honest entrepreneur will issue it, a scammer will disappear.
The clause "non-refundable deposit in every case, even if canceled by the owner" in a contract with a consumer excludes the operation of Article 394 to the detriment of the weaker party and is considered an unfair provision that does not bind. You do not need to argue about it before the trip, but do not let yourself be intimidated by it.
How to Pay to Have a Way Back
The payment method determines whether you have any procedure for recovering your money in case of fraud.
| Method | Way Back | Rating |
|---|---|---|
| Payment in the official platform system (Booking, Airbnb) | Platform procedures plus possible chargeback from the card | Best. Stay within the system, even if someone tempts you with a discount for payment outside it |
| Credit card | Chargeback, usually 120 days, counted also from the day the service was to be performed | Very good, also for those paying from abroad |
| Debit card | Chargeback works the same | Good, although the money leaves the account immediately |
| Pay-by-link (PayU, Przelewy24) paid by card | Chargeback at the card issuer's bank, not at the intermediary | Good, but check if you are really paying by card |
| Pay-by-link paid by transfer | No, technically it is just a regular transfer | Poor. Easy to confuse, as the screen looks the same |
| Regular transfer | Only cancellation before settlement and blocking the recipient's account | Poor, only speed of reaction counts |
| BLIK to a phone number | Practically none, it is a system outside card networks, without chargeback | Worst with an unknown |
| Money transfer to a private person | None | For accommodation, there is no reason for someone to ask for this |
Three rules exclude most variants described in Part 1: never pay from a link sent in a message, even if they know your name and reservation number; never provide card details in a "reservation verification" form; never provide a BLIK code and read in the app what you are approving.
Fake Payment Gateway: How to Recognize It
Clones of payment gateways are now well-made. Scammers register domains similar to the real ones, e.g., payu-24.pl, platnosc-payu.pl, przelewy24-7.pl, or prezelevy.com, and for Booking, dozens of addresses like booking.confirmation-id1274.com.
A padlock next to the address proves nothing. A fake site has a certificate just like a real one. The only reliable test is the domain in the address bar, read before you enter anything.
One criterion circulates in a misleading version. A real pay-by-link redirects you to your bank's system, and logging in actually occurs there, so it is not true that "the gateway never asks for login." The real criterion is: logging into the bank never occurs on a domain other than your bank's domain. If the "login" and "password" fields are on a page with a different address, it is theft, regardless of appearance.
A fake gateway does not always stop at card data. Sometimes it solicits login data and the SMS code "live" to access the account, add a trusted recipient, and withdraw money, often at night.
Preauthorization is Real, and That’s Why the Fraud Works
"Temporary blocking of funds" is not a scammer's invention. Preauthorization is a legal operation: hotels and car rental companies block an amount for 7 or 14 days, without the physical presence of the card. Therefore, the statement "nothing will be charged, it's just verification" sounds credible.
However, a site controlled by a scammer can describe the operation in any way. The truth is shown only by the 3D-Secure message in the bank's app and the account history. CERT Orange described a campaign where promised "temporary blocks" turned out to be regular charges.
Three things no authorized person will ever request by email, SMS, or phone: the CVV code from the back of the card, the banking password, and the authorization code from the SMS.
Why a scammer always asks for an instant transfer
A regular transfer goes through the Elixir system, which settles in sessions on business days. As long as the transfer does not reach the nearest session, the bank has a real chance to stop it. An instant transfer (Express Elixir) works around the clock and is completed in seconds, so there is practically no window to stop it.
When someone insists on this form of payment for accommodation or on BLIK, they are essentially asking to cut off your way back. The same applies to foreign accounts: for accommodation in Poland, there is no reason for the money to go abroad.
Related Materials
- Deposit or Advance Payment: What Is Lost, What Is Returned Doubly, and How to Write It in the Contract: full discussion of Article 394 of the Civil Code.
- Fake Online Store: How to Recognize It and How to Recover Money: the same chargeback mechanics in a different context.
Frequently Asked Questions
The lessor wants a deposit, not an advance payment. Is this a warning sign?
On the contrary. If the lessor cancels the stay, they must return double the deposit, so a scammer has no interest in such a structure. A worse signal is "non-refundable prepayment in every case."
The apartment is not in the Central Register of Hotel Facilities. Is this fraud?
No. The register only includes categorized hotel facilities: hotels, motels, guesthouses, campgrounds, tourist houses, and hostels. Apartments, accommodations, and cottages are subject to registration in the registry maintained by the municipality. The easiest way is to ask the lessor for the number of this entry.
Can I withdraw from an accommodation reservation made online within 14 days?
No, if the contract specifies the day or period of stay. Article 38(1)(12) of the Consumer Rights Act then excludes the right of withdrawal. Only what you agreed upon matters, so write the cancellation conditions before making the payment.
Reverse image search found no photos from the ad anywhere else. So they are real?
Not necessarily. AI-generated photos also have no copies online because they did not exist before. Ask for a short video recorded now, from the door to the balcony, with today's date. A lessor who has the property will record it in a minute.
Does booking through Booking or Airbnb provide full security?
It provides a lot, provided that you pay within the platform system. Airbnb's protection does not cover payments outside the platform. The platform also does not protect you from a message sent from a compromised property account, which is why the rule "I never pay from a link in a message" also applies within the app.
The lessor asks for a scan of the ID "for the contract." Should I send it?
For a short-term rental agreement, only the name, surname, address, and document number are sufficient. A scan of the entire ID is not needed, and it is exactly what someone who wants to take a loan in your name needs. If you have already sent it, block your PESEL number. It is free and takes a few minutes, and details are described in Part 3.
Sources
Status as of October 23, 2026. This material is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal or financial advice. Regulations, banking procedures, and platform regulations change, so check the current conditions at the source before making a decision. For individual matters, use the free assistance of the district or municipal consumer ombudsman or consult a lawyer.
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