By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 05/08/2026Google keeps finding ways to expose its users to fraud while lining its own pockets. That restaurant markup scam that caught me in 2023? Three years later, it's *way* worse. 46/ 1487
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 05/08/2026San Francisco City Attorney David Chiu just filed suit against GuestReservations.com, BookOnline.com and Booking Holdings for running a *massive* version of the restaurant menu scam - one that extracted *millions* from people booking hotel rooms: www.kron4.com/news/bay-are... 47/guestreservations.comGuest ReservationsAs an independent booking service offering over 100,000 hotels worldwide, we can get you the same deals you expect with a bigger travel agency or direct from the hotel. 1429
By Cory Doctorow (GPG 0xBF3D9110957E5F4C) @doctorow.pluralistic.net · 05/08/2026Here's how the scam worked: these companies put up websites with deceptive URLs, like *SanFranciscoMarriott.GuestReservations.com*, and then bought the associated Google ad-word ("San Francisco Marriott"). 48/ 1373
