Booking Dot Com Different Colour.

[andy-hughes]

A friend is renting a flat and the abroad landlord is arranging through Booking.com. 

He has viewed the flat, and paid the deposit and advance rent via Booking.com.

The landlord is not returning calls, and Booking.com don't recognise the Reference Number. 

He's noticed thar the 'B' on Booking.com on his correspondence is red, and the Customer Service logo is blue.

Has he been scammed?

[calmck]

I would tell him to contact his bank and cancel payment then work with Booking.com for resolution

[Buenchico]

Your friend needs to view the 'extended headers' for the confirmation email that he got (or, at least, that he appeared to get) from Booking.com. 

The way to do that will vary though, depending upon how he accesses his emails.  For example, when using GMX's web-based service, I need to click on a small 'i' (for 'information'), as shown here:
https://i.postimg.cc/cCg3RXx4/Booking1.jpg
(With other email systems though, it might be necessary to look for something like 'Menu > View Extended Headers').

The extended headers should be packed with references to 'booking.com', as shown here:
https://i.postimg.cc/NG5zMXhd/Booking2.jpg

If they are, the email is genuine.  However if, for example, there's a Gmail address (or similar) in there instead, then the email hasn't come from Booking.com and is clearly fake.

[andy-hughes]

Thanks for your help Chris - a scam headed off at the pass thanks to your encyclopedic knowledge of all things technical.

Grateful thanks from my friend as well, you are his hero!