Beware of scams related to Tet holiday tours.

This year's Lunar New Year holiday offers 7 days off, making travel a popular choice for many. Taking advantage of this, many scammers exploit people's desire for cheap deals and even their lack of experience to commit fraud through online tour and travel service sales on social media, resulting in customers losing money and feeling frustrated and angry.

Having fallen victim to scams during the 2023 Tet holiday, Mr. Le Quoc Dat, residing in Ha Dong district, Hanoi, said that many tours advertised on social media by both reputable and small companies were indeed "you get what you pay for."

"My family also had a rather unsatisfactory spring trip. The tour only took us to shopping malls and amusement parks where I didn't get to experience much, and the meals and family activities were in very ordinary, simple places, not like the 4-star or 5-star service advertised on websites," Mr. Dat said.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, Vice President of the Hanoi Tourism Club and Director of AZA Travel, the tricks used by scammers often involve exploiting the scarcity of rooms at tourist destinations, using images of luxury hotels and popular tours to advertise.

Furthermore, to gain trust, many people create fake websites impersonating reputable travel and tour companies to sell tours, airline tickets, and hotel rooms at significantly higher prices than the market rate. However, as soon as the money is transferred, they immediately cut off all contact, shut down their social media accounts like Facebook and Zalo, and consumers can only complain helplessly without being able to do anything.

Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat - Vice President of the Hanoi Tourism Club, Director of AZA Travel, speaks live in the VOV2 studio.

According to Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat, another form of fraud used by these individuals is the service of obtaining overseas tourist visas during the Tet holiday.

"Many people have complained about visa application services promising a high success rate, but after the victims transfer the payment, the perpetrators leave the victims to fill out the application forms and complete the documents themselves… Then, when the application is rejected, they use various excuses to blame the victims and refuse to return the money," Mr. Nguyen Tien Dat informed .

To avoid falling into scams, people should be vigilant before deciding to buy tours or travel services at cheap prices. They should only choose services from reputable companies, or through travel apps, or select reputable social media platforms where they know the seller's information well.

At the same time, people need to be wary of deposit requests to reserve a spot and equip themselves with online transaction skills to avoid falling into the trap of online scams.

Thanh Huyen (VOV2)

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