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Spanish Police Arrest Hacker Who Booked Luxury Hotels for One Cent
The suspect exploited a payment validation flaw to book luxury hotel rooms for one cent each, causing over €20,000 in losses, police said.
- On Wednesday, Spanish police arrested a 20-year-old man who allegedly hacked a hotel booking website to secure luxury rooms for as little as one cent.
- Earlier this month, the probe started when an online booking website reported suspicious activity, and the electronic payment platform later revealed discrepancies in transferred amounts.
- Police say the payment-validation system was altered, allowing bookings to appear fully paid while only one cent was charged for rooms up to 1,000 euros per night.
- Hotels lost more than 20,000 euros after repeated stays, including a four-night Madrid reservation totalling 4,000 euros with minibar items consumed and unpaid bills, authorities said.
- Spain's National Police warned that `This cyberattack was specifically designed to alter the payment validation system, and this is the first time we have detected a crime using this method`, marking the first known cybercrime of this type involving luxury hotel bookings.
32 Articles
32 Articles
A 20-year-old man was arrested in Spain, suspected of hacking into luxury hotel reservation systems to pay only one cent euro at night. Installed in a Madrid palace for four years.
When he booked his palaces online, the young hacker "modified the process of validation of the transaction", allowing him to pay "only one cent", according to the Spanish police.
The Spanish National Police announced on Wednesday the arrest of a young man who manipulated the online payment system to stay in luxury hotels for a penny a week.
A 20-year-old man in Spain also knew that hotel stays were becoming increasingly expensive. According to Spanish police, he circumvented the payment system of booking sites, allowing him to reserve luxury rooms for just one cent. The hacker was arrested today at a hotel in Madrid. He was staying there with a four-night reservation worth approximately €4,000. According to police, the hotel rooms were left with unpaid bills and an empty minibar. T…
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