Beware of summer scams

During the summer, when tourism demand increases, scams under the guise of "special offers" and "unexpectedly low prices" flourish.

Reporting to Nguoi Lao Dong Newspaper, Ms. Minh Hoang (living in Da Nang City) said she had just been scammed of nearly 3 million VND when she booked a hotel room deposit through a fake fanpage.

Money Scam and More

Ms. Minh Hoang said that from the need to book accommodation for her family of 5 to stay in Da Nang City to watch the fireworks on the weekend, she searched for a few 4-5 star hotels online. Seeing that Wink Icon Riverside Da Nang Hotel displayed 3 fanpages on Facebook, she chose the page with many likes, a lot of updated information... to contact.

The fanpage's advice is very professional. In addition, the fanpage also makes Ms. Hoang feel secure by recommending that she go to platforms like Agoda, Booking... to check the price and then get a slightly lower quote.

"Although I was cautious, because I liked the preferential price and was well advised, when they gave me my name, sent me a deposit receipt, the account holder showed the company name..., I did not hesitate to transfer the money. After transferring, they said the system had a problem so I couldn't book and told me to contact the accountant to get my money back. At that point, I knew I had been scammed. I called the hotel directly, the staff said that the fanpage was fake" - Ms. Hoang was upset.

Ms. Ngoc Bich (living in Tan Binh District, Ho Chi Minh City) was luckier. Recently, she searched for Movenpick Phan Thiet resort online to book a room for her summer vacation . She saw that the common price was about 3 million VND/room/night while a fanpage with the same name of the resort had a consultant offering a "special offer" of 2.5 million VND/night including 3 meals, she planned to deposit 10 rooms. To be assured, she found the phone number and called the hotel for further advice, but was told that the other fanpage was fake.

In Ho Chi Minh City, some 4-5 star hotels such as Majestic Saigon, Rex... have warned about the appearance of many fake Facebook pages with fake names and images to trick customers into booking rooms and services. Ms. Nguyen Thi Xuan Dao, Deputy Director of Majestic Saigon Hotel, said that in addition to deposits or prepayments for non-existent services, more dangerously, scammers also collect customers' personal information to proceed with other plans.

Therefore, in addition to not providing personal information, bank account information or making any transfers to a Facebook page that is not the hotel's official page, customers should be wary of promotions that show signs of abnormality.

There are many fan pages impersonating hotels online to scam people.

Reduce risk

According to our research, the situation of fraud when booking tours, airline tickets, hotels tends to increase during the peak summer tourist season. Notably, not only taking deposits, the subjects also lure customers to click on links with malicious code to steal bank accounts and appropriate money.

Mr. Dennis Nguyen, Director of Maxbooking Consulting and Services Company, said that Maxbooking has supported many hotel partners in handling situations where customers booked rooms through fake brand websites. He commented that in the context of e-commerce development, online fraud is happening continuously. Customers should book services through reputable platforms and brands as well as verify information with travel agencies and hotels by phone to see if it matches the information online.

Representatives of Vietravel Tourism Company shared the view that the form of fraud is becoming more and more sophisticated and organized. Many subjects have impersonated travel companies, created fake fanpages or websites, advertised "surprisingly cheap" tours and asked customers to transfer money to reserve seats immediately.

"They prey on the psychology of wanting cheap prices and fearing "tours running out" during peak season, causing many tourists to fall into traps and lose money," commented a Vietravel representative. According to this representative, to minimize risks for customers, the company regularly issues early warnings on official channels, providing clear information about the office system, switchboard, and tax code. At the same time, the company recommends that customers only transact through verified official channels.

According to many travel companies, eliminating fraud is not an easy task because technology is becoming more sophisticated, counterfeiting brands is becoming easier while a segment of consumers do not have enough skills to identify authentic information.

From there, companies expect management agencies to have a more effective coordination mechanism with businesses and many social networking platforms to quickly handle impersonation and fraudulent advertising. In addition, it is also important to raise awareness and safe consumption skills of tourists.

Travel demand increases during the summer, tourists are advised to be careful when booking services online

Blue tick fanpage is not always the owner

According to the reporter's records, many people booked rooms and travel services through fanpages with blue ticks because they trusted them but were still scammed.

Explaining why fraudulent fanpages still have blue ticks, information security expert Nguyen Huu Nguyen said that many scammers set up "ghost" companies and use fake information to apply for blue ticks from Facebook. In addition, there are many groups that specialize in building and "raising" fanpages that are eligible for blue ticks, then reselling them to those in need, including scammers.

To avoid losses, Mr. Nguyen recommends that users carefully check information such as business name, operating hours, address, legal representative and bank account number. Before transferring money, customers should make a live video call to verify their identity. "Reputable business people will be ready to answer, while scammers often avoid appearing," he emphasized.

L. Province

Source: https://nld.com.vn/canh-giac-chieu-lua-dip-he-196250619223724675.htm