With the upcoming 5-day April 30th and May 1st holiday, Ms. HTML's family planned a trip to visit relatives and combine it with a relaxing vacation. Worried about rooms being fully booked during peak season, Ms. L. proactively searched for information and made reservations in advance through social media platforms. While browsing Facebook, Ms. L. saw an advertisement for a hotel room with beautiful photos, perfectly suited to her family's needs.
After messaging to inquire about prices, both parties agreed on the room type and price. Ms. L. was instructed to transfer a deposit of nearly 2 million VND to reserve the room. However, immediately after Ms. L. completed the transfer, the fanpage account blocked all communication, preventing her from contacting them again. At this point, she realized she had been scammed.
According to the Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department (City Police), currently, individuals are impersonating websites and fan pages of reputable hotels, resorts, and travel companies to scam people into booking rooms, tours, and cheap airline tickets. They create fake logos, company names, and interfaces to gain the trust of users and encourage quick transfers. Furthermore, many fake fan pages purchase verified badges and have higher likes and followers than the legitimate ones.
Accordingly, the perpetrators forge photos of receipts, invoices, and company seals; after customers transfer money to pay for travel services, the perpetrators block communication and erase all traces. Through social media, they run advertisements selling cheap tours and hotel rooms with many accompanying offers. In other cases, they exploit community travel groups, posting advertisements offering cheap tours and available rooms, requesting bank transfers to reserve reservations.
When approached by potential customers, the perpetrators offer their services and request a deposit. Fearing that tickets or rooms will be fully booked, buyers transfer money without verification, only to find out later that the seller has disappeared. Furthermore, after receiving the deposit, the perpetrators ask customers to provide their own information and complete paperwork... with the aim of stealing personal information and misappropriating funds.
Accordingly, authorities advise tourists to only book tours, rooms, and airline tickets through reputable, licensed agencies with transparent information; absolutely do not transfer deposit money to individuals or organizations that are unclear or show signs of fraud, especially through social media channels; be cautious of promotions and discounts that are excessively better than the market rate, especially during peak holidays such as April 30th and May 1st; in case of detecting unusual behavior or suspected fraud, quickly report it to the nearest police station for assistance.
For tourism businesses, it is necessary to strengthen brand protection on social media, regularly review and promptly detect fake information platforms and social media pages impersonating their tourism service businesses; proactively coordinate with competent authorities to promptly resolve and handle cases when detected; warn and guide customers, post warning notices on official websites and fan pages about fraudulent activities and guide customers on how to distinguish them; when detecting fake pages, report them on the platforms, exchange information and report to the relevant authorities for monitoring.
KHANH NGAN
Source: https://baodanang.vn/xa-hoi/202504/canh-giac-cac-chieu-tro-lua-dao-du-lich-nhan-dip-le-he-4005620/
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