A consumer protection group, Which?, reported that Wetherspoon staff are turning away up to 20 tourists daily due to scammers using the pub's address for fraudulent hotel bookings. One victim, Paul Dawson, booked a stay at a non-existent luxury apartment, only to find it was the address of a Wetherspoon pub.
Booking.com acknowledged that the listings were compromised through a phishing attack, leading to unauthorized access. The company has suspended bookings at the affected properties and is working to remove the fraudulent listings permanently.