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There has been a rise in scammers impersonating companies such as KAYAK and our international brands, offering fake job opportunities to jobseekers. Please be mindful that whatever stage of the hiring process you are in, KAYAK will never request payment(s) from anyone for an open role.

On that note, KAYAK is a travel search engine, not a travel agent. We process billions of queries across our platforms each year for travel information, from flights and hotels to car rentals. With every query, KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to show you the information you need to find the right booking but we never take direct bookings or payments and will never call, email, or message via WhatsApp, Instagram, or LinkedIn to complete your booking or request payment.

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What do scammers ask for?

Scammers will typically first make unsolicited contact via phone, WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, or email, fraudulently using KAYAK’s brand name and logo.

These scammers entice job seekers with fake job offers (such as providing Hotels reviews), coercing them into completing tasks such as setting up online profiles or divulging personal information, all under the guise of receiving payments or commissions. Sometimes they will even pay someone a small amount of money to gain their trust and then ask that person to pay money to earn higher commissions.

The scammers may also mention the names of KAYAK's executive or recruitment team members to manipulate individuals into trusting them.

KAYAK scams: what to watch out for

  • Our official KAYAK recruitment email addresses end with @kayak.com. Avoid communicating with emails using Gmail or other domains in relation to any jobs at KAYAK.
  • KAYAK will never request payment(s) from candidates for open positions at any point.
  • We are a travel search engine, not a travel agent, so we don’t handle bookings or payments directly.
  • KAYAK, will never call, email, or message you via WhatsApp to complete a user’s bookings or to request payment. If you are contacted in this way please report it.
  • For all of our official KAYAK pages, 'KAYAK' will be in the URL, followed by the local domain such as kayak.com, kayak.co.uk, kayak.fr, etc. Different variations such as 'kayakonline', 'kayakworking', or 'kayakagent' are not affiliated with KAYAK.
  • KAYAK will never send unsolicited messages via email, LinkedIn, WhatsApp, or Instagram.
  • Do not fall for ads promoted on social media (i.e. particularly on WhatsApp, Instagram, and LinkedIn) offering job opportunities with commissions.
  • Please go to the official KAYAK career page www.kayak.com/careers/all to review open positions.
  • What to do if you spot a scam or have been scammed?

    If you think you have spotted a scam or are the victim of a scam, you can (i) contact your bank regarding the fraudulent payment(s); and/or (ii) report the fraudulent activity to your local law enforcement agency:

  • US: US government fraud and scam site.
  • Canada: Anti Fraud Center Canada.
  • Australia: Australian Cyber Security Centre.
  • UK: Action Fraud UK.
  • Europe: Europol .
  • France: Cybermalveillance.gouv.fr.
  • To report any suspicious activity directly to KAYAK, please fill out this form on the KAYAK support page.

    About the author

    KAYAK Since 2004, KAYAK has been revolutionising the travel industry. Metasearch for travel? No one was doing it. Until we did. Today, we process billions of queries across our platforms each year for travel information, helping millions of travellers around the globe make confident decisions. With every query, KAYAK searches hundreds of travel sites to show travellers the information they need to find the right flights, hotels, hire cars and holiday packages

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