Beware of scams during the tourist season.

Despite carefully checking for "blue ticks," information from advertising pages, and observing interactions in posts, many people still fall prey to scammers when they need to buy airline tickets, book tours, or reserve hotel rooms.

The police advise people who need to book hotel rooms or tours to carefully check the information. (Illustrative image)

"Blue tick" is also... fake.

As the 2025 summer travel season approaches, the demand for airline tickets, tour bookings, and hotel and resort reservations is increasing. Taking advantage of this period, scammers are using sophisticated tactics, impersonating travel agencies or tourist resorts and hotels to steal money, causing serious financial losses and damaging people's trust.

In early July, during his children's summer vacation, Mr. Thanh Nhat (Quang Phu ward, Da Nang city) planned a family trip to Quy Nhon (Gia Lai). Following reviews of accommodations, Mr. Nhat found a hotel he quite liked and booked a room. However, when he typed the hotel's name into the fan page to contact them, Mr. Nhat discovered that there were... 5 fan pages with the same name, address, images, and related information.

“I was almost scammed when I messaged a verified fan page with the name of the hotel I wanted to book. This account posted many images that looked exactly like the hotel's official website. However, I decided to call the resort directly to verify and was informed that the phone number and bank transfer information provided by the fan page were fake. Luckily, I hadn't transferred the money yet, otherwise I would have lost everything,” said Mr. Nhat.

Ms. Nguyen Thi Le, representative of Han Giang Tourism Services Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Cam Le ward), shared that there are many cases of people impersonating travel companies to sell airline tickets, book tours, and reserve hotel rooms during peak tourist seasons in order to commit fraud.

"Exploiting customers' fears of room shortages and rising prices during the tourist season, scammers will approach them by using fake websites, running advertisements, and posting information indiscriminately on social media platforms."

After contacting potential customers, the perpetrators use images from the actual address to lure and pressure them into transferring a deposit, ultimately defrauding them. People should be vigilant and book through reputable travel companies with clear addresses,” Ms. Le stated.

Be vigilant and check from multiple sources.

According to a representative from the Cyber ​​Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention Department of the Da Nang City Police, scammers often hire services to obtain verified badges on Facebook or buy existing verified Facebook accounts, then rename them to reputable tourist areas, hotels, resorts, or travel agencies.

These accounts are used to run advertisements and post information about booking flights and hotel rooms, building trust with users. They also offer attractive travel packages at more favorable prices than legitimate establishments, along with information about ample available tickets and rooms to avoid suspicion. Many Facebook pages even copy the entire content of legitimate establishments, making it difficult for people to identify them.

After attracting attention, the scammers request people to transfer money in advance as a deposit, provide fake booking codes, and then demand full payment. By the time victims discover or suspect a scam, these accounts are often locked or deleted, making tracing them difficult.

Colonel Nguyen Thanh Long, Deputy Director of the Da Nang City Police, advised citizens to be extremely vigilant when booking rooms or purchasing travel packages online. First, they should carefully verify information from social media accounts advertising services, including Facebook, TikTok, or the official websites of businesses and accommodation establishments. Most fake accounts are newly created, have recently changed names, or have only posted advertisements for a short time. Citizens can easily identify these signs and should absolutely avoid transacting with suspicious accounts.

"Furthermore, to ensure safety, people should contact airlines, hotels, and resorts directly via their official phone numbers to verify booking codes or assess the reliability of the agency before making payments. In the unfortunate event of being scammed or having their assets stolen online, people should quickly report it to the nearest police station for timely assistance," Colonel Nguyen Thanh Long advised.

Source: https://baodanang.vn/can-trong-bay-lua-mua-du-lich-3265389.html