Dear Airbnb: who is ‘Rachel’, and how has she taken over my booking?

When I got a confirmation email addressed to the wrong name. I suspected an error and cancelled. Then £500 was taken from my account

Eight months ago, I booked an Airbnb on my new iPhone. The confirmation congratulated someone called Rachel on the booking.

I realised Airbnb tech had somehow logged me in to a stranger’s account using my new work phone number and my Face ID. Airbnb later told me the phone number had been recycled and was previously owned by “Rachel”. No payment had been taken and I immediately cancelled the reservation and booked a different property.