My Booking.com Nightmare Scammed €500 by Fake Charge

I am absolutely furious and frankly, appalled by what just happened with my Booking.com reservation. Months ago, I booked a stay through their site. Today, I received a message simultaneously via Gmail and the Booking.com app, stating that a credit card pre-authorization was required and would be refunded. Because the message appeared to come directly from the hotel through the official Booking.com app, I trusted it and proceeded with the transaction.

Now, I'm out approximately €500! This isn't just a minor inconvenience; I've been actively defrauded. Booking.com needs to take immediate responsibility for this security lapse within their platform. How can a fraudulent message appear to be legitimate and come through their own app? I demand to be fully reimbursed for my €500 loss and expect Booking.com to investigate this serious breach to prevent other customers from falling victim to the same scam. This is a direct call to action refund my money now!