Beware of travel service scams on the internet

After Tet, the demand for tourism and spring travel increases, so the situation of fraud and property appropriation on cyberspace in the tourism sector also "blooms", causing property damage to people and damaging the reputation of tourism service businesses.

I am on top — Post by the victim in the case of being scammed of 1 billion VND when booking a hotel online. Photo: Department of Information Security.

In mid-February 2025, the Department of Information Security (Ministry of Information and Communications) issued a warning about the widespread situation of fake resorts, hotels, and homestays on online platforms after Tet.

Specifically, the scammers created a professional fanpage impersonating the Minawa Kenh Ga resort in Ninh Binh. After the tourist contacted for consultation and transferred the first deposit of 6.5 million VND, the scammer informed the customer that the content was wrong and asked for the money to be transferred back for the accounting department to confirm. However, after many transfers of more than 1 billion VND, the scammer blocked the communication and appropriated the entire amount.

According to the Department of Information Security, fraud in the tourism sector is becoming more and more common. Bad guys have created fake websites with interfaces identical to famous resorts, hotels, and homestays, or posted beautiful images and attractive prices that are not real to lure customers. After customers deposit and pay, the subject will cut off contact. Or there are cases where customers arrive but do not receive the service. Based on beautiful images and professional posting, running ads for articles with tens of thousands of interactions has caused many people to fall into the trap.

Ms. Nguyen Nhat - representative of Fttourist Company shared that many websites of travel companies or famous hotels and resorts are faked. Therefore, before deciding to book a room, customers need to carefully check the website address; consult with people who have stayed at the hotel you want to book; be wary of fanpages advertising room bookings at prices that are too cheap compared to the market; contact the accommodation directly before paying; only book rooms through reputable travel platforms or companies...

To prevent people from being scammed, Mr. Hoang Quoc Hoa - Director of the Tourism Information Center (Vietnam National Tourism Administration) said that the Vietnam National Tourism Administration has just issued Official Dispatch No. 253/CDLQGVN-QLLT to the tourism departments of provinces and centrally-run cities on preventing, stopping and handling fraudulent activities to appropriate assets on cyberspace in the tourism sector. The Vietnam National Tourism Administration requested local tourism management departments to increase propaganda to tourism service businesses and people about new forms and tricks of fraud in the tourism sector; recommend people to carefully research information of tourism service providers before making payment transactions; strengthen inspection and examination, promptly detect and handle violations according to the provisions of law; Coordinate with relevant authorities to regularly review and prevent fake websites and fanpages, strictly handle fraudulent subjects... At the same time, raise awareness of responsibility in protecting customers; regularly review and promptly detect information platforms and social networking sites that impersonate your tourism service business...

"The Vietnam National Administration of Tourism always updates all official and legitimate databases on digital platforms, making them public for people and businesses to look up to verify and check whether the information provided by the subjects is correct or not. When necessary, people can report to the Vietnam Travel application platform. People need to research carefully and stay calm before transferring service money. When detecting fraudulent behavior, they need to report it to the nearest police agency for guidance on how to handle it," Mr. Hoa advised.

After Tet, the demand for tourism and spring travel increases, so the situation of fraud and property appropriation on cyberspace in the tourism sector also "blooms", causing property damage to people and damaging the reputation of tourism service businesses.

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