Right, but even if you exchanged your name and email or even phone number, how is that going to lead you to believe who the person "really" is? Now, more than ever, it's so easy to hide behind fake digital personas, so why does exchanging basic information mean that youre somehow safer? Because of Facebook? Or Twitter? Is a thief really going to broadcast their intentions over the internet and if you get their information sooner, you can find out before you become a victim? Why does it matter about when you get the information? How would having this information sooner protect her from this situation? Not to mention that you cant always predict what people are going to do. AIrBnB is a community that is supposed to be built on trust and I cant imagine that this is the norm with them. Shit happens, and it's terrible, but sometimes you just can't prevent it. I'd imagine that the company will come up with some sort of verification process soon to help add security, but there's only so much they can do.