Hotel booking scams during the 2-9 holiday and how to avoid them

Many hotels and resorts advertise surprisingly cheap prices on September 2, but if you're not careful, you'll fall into a "trick trap".

In recent weeks, when the 4-day National Day holiday on September 2 has not yet begun, scams about booking cheap hotels, resorts, and entertainment services have flourished on social networks.

Flooded with fake fanpages to scam hotel bookings

Ms. Minh Tam (living in Dong Nai ) after seeing the fanpage of a 4-star hotel in Vung Tau ward (HCMC) with tens of thousands of followers, luxurious images, attractive "discount" room prices, she trusted and booked 2 rooms for her family during the holiday, then lost her deposit because she was scammed.

According to Ms. Minh Tam, the hotel's fanpage responded very quickly, sending pictures of the room, buffet menu... The scammer asked her to transfer a deposit of 3 million VND to reserve a spot. "I thought a big hotel couldn't be scammed, so I transferred the money with peace of mind. After reading the scam warning, I contacted them again and found out I had been scammed" - Ms. Tam said.

Some fake fanpages have just changed their names in a short time. Small photo: A hotel owner posted a warning about fake fanpages. Screenshot: TR.NGUYEN

Mr. Thanh Hoang (living in Ho Chi Minh City) said that a few days ago he was looking for a hotel room for his whole family to go to Vung Tau on the occasion of the September 2nd holiday. Seeing a fanpage advertising a 4-star hotel, priced at only 1.5 million VND/night, he texted to book, but the other party asked for a 50% deposit, so he was suspicious. "Most big hotels do not require a deposit, even booking through online travel platforms, so I was suspicious. I called the hotel's official phone number directly and found out that the fanpage was fake," said Mr. Hoang.

According to accommodation establishments in Vung Tau, the trick of impersonating hotel and resort fanpages is often repeated during peak tourist seasons. A representative of Ngoc Hanh Hotel (Thuy Van Street, Vung Tau Ward) said: "The hotel's fanpage is often impersonated. Many guests transfer large sums of money and then go to the reception only to find out they have been scammed. There have even been cases where scammers sent fake links, took control of the phone and drained the account, some guests lost up to 80 million VND."

Malibu Vung Tau Hotel also confirmed that it had received many similar complaints. This unit recommends that visitors should book rooms through reputable platforms or call the hotel's official phone number for verification.

The sales director of a 4-star hotel in Ho Chi Minh City shared that she is in a chat group with many managers of 3-5 star hotels in the area, and often hears about "disgraceful" cases when their fanpages are impersonated. "The scammers not only create eye-catching fake fanpages but also professionally create payment invoices, room reservations, transfers, etc. Even the hotel's account number is faked, causing many people to be scammed," said the hotel director.

Not only in Vung Tau, many famous tourist destinations such as Da Lat, Nha Trang, Phan Thiet or Ho Chi Minh City, the situation of fake fanpages of resorts and 4-5 star hotels appeared a lot with interfaces, information, and images more beautiful than real pages. Some pages have only changed their names since July 2025 but have a very high interaction rate, even have a "genuine" blue tick, making many people trust and be deceived. In particular, the scammers are very enthusiastic and professional when replying to messages, often asking customers to transfer 30% - 50% of the room price as a deposit, urging customers to quickly transfer money to enjoy super cheap prices. Many people are afraid of losing the opportunity so they follow. Only when they check in do they realize they have been deceived.

Check carefully before booking

Faced with this situation, many people have gone to travel groups to warn about fake hotel fanpages and "surprisingly cheap" promotions to limit fraud.

Meanwhile, some hotel leaders said that to deal with the counterfeiting situation, they have considered registering for the blue tick to create peace of mind for tourists. However, some fake fanpages are still granted blue ticks, causing many people to be confused.

From a management perspective, the People's Committee of Vung Tau Ward recommends that tourists should book rooms and services through official channels. It is best to contact hotels and accommodation establishments directly or book through reputable and verified booking websites and applications, instead of transacting via personal Facebook or Zalo without legal information.

Before transferring money, it is necessary to check and compare the address and phone number from many different sources; at the same time, ask the accommodation to provide an invoice or booking confirmation with full information. Visitors should not transfer the entire amount in advance. If so, they should only prioritize deposits through the hotel or business's main bank account, absolutely avoid transferring money to personal accounts.

The Hanoi Department of Tourism also issued a warning about a similar situation. According to the agency, the common tricks of these subjects are impersonating famous hotels and homestays; listing unusually low room rates to lure customers; asking customers to transfer deposits in advance via personal accounts or e-wallets, then making excuses to request more money.

When a hotel or homestay has multiple websites or fanpages with the same name, it is necessary to check for unusual signs such as: newly created, recently renamed but posting massive advertisements, shocking discounts; administrator positions in countries other than Vietnam; using multiple virtual accounts (newly created, blank profile pictures) to comment and give good reviews. When booking a room, ask the hotel or homestay to provide information about phone number, address, business license.

The green tick is not an absolute guarantee.

Mr. Khoi Le, Country Director of Meta in Vietnam, said that the blue tick on Facebook simply confirms that the account is genuine and has been verified, and does not mean that it is a reputable page. According to him, many users in Vietnam still misunderstand the meaning of this symbol.

A Meta representative said that they have received many reports related to fake and fraudulent situations on the platform. The company recommends that users take advantage of available tools on Facebook to report and handle violations, instead of relying on external services. In parallel, Meta also opened a separate channel for the Vietnamese community to receive feedback and adjust policies accordingly.

Mr. Le Hong Duc, founder of OneAds Digital Company, warned that the exploitation of blue ticks for fraud is becoming more and more sophisticated, especially during peak times such as holidays and Tet. Fake fanpages of hotels and restaurants can explode; some subjects even hack fanpages with blue ticks and change their names to gain trust. "Users should not consider blue ticks as an absolute guarantee. Before making a transaction, it is necessary to carefully check the information and verify the origin of the fanpage" - Mr. Duc emphasized.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/lua-dao-dat-phong-khach-san-dip-le-2-9-196250829210313399.htm