Warning about fake tourist accommodation establishments to scam

Taking advantage of the peak season, scammers have used fake fanpages and websites of reputable homestays and hotels in the area to steal tourists ' deposits when registering online for room reservations.

Professional fake website, customers only realized they were scammed after making a deposit

Binh Kien Ward, Dak Lak Province: Formerly the area of An Phu, Hoa Kien, Binh Kien communes and part of Ward 9, Phu Yen Province.

O Loan Commune, Dak Lak Province: Formerly the area of An Hiep, An Hoa Hai and An Cu communes of Phu Yen province.

Wishing to have a memorable summer vacation with her family by the beach, Ms. Pham Thi Huyen Thoai (Binh Kien ward, Dak Lak province) chose a homestay located near the beach in O Loan commune (Dak Lak province) to book a room.

Ms. Thoai said that because she had stayed at this homestay, she felt secure going to the establishment's Facebook page to get advice on booking a room and using the service. After she transferred 1.35 million VND to book a room as instructed, the owner of this Facebook page continued to ask her to transfer money many times because the system had not received it.

Ms. Thoai was suspicious and checked and discovered that this was a fake Facebook page of the homestay she needed to book a room at.

In recent days, many tourists in Dak Lak have been scammed by people impersonating fanpages and websites of homestays and hotels. They copy all the information, content, images and videos on the official Facebook pages and websites of homestays and hotels to post articles with the same content as the official pages, thereby attracting a large number of tourists to follow and interact.

Many people cannot distinguish between fake or official Facebook pages and websites of homestays and hotels, so they become victims of fraud.

Mr. Nguyen Minh Phung, representative of the homestay Nắng House - Cù Lao Mái Nhà (Ô Loan commune, Đắk Lắk province), said that in recent days, this accommodation facility has continuously received complaints from tourists about people impersonating the homestay's Facebook page to scam and appropriate room rental deposits.

Many tourists are scammed online, only to discover they have been scammed when they check in.

In addition, the homestay is also being disrupted by fake account users who disrupt information on the official page, seriously affecting the reputation of the homestay.

lừa đảo - Ảnh 1. — On Facebook, there are up to 7 fanpages of Sala Grand Tuy Hoa, it is very difficult to know which is the real fanpage of the hotel.

Ward 1, Ward 2, Ward 4, Ward 5, Ward 7, part of Ward 9, part of Hoa An commune of Phu Yen province were previously merged into Tuy Hoa ward, Dak Lak province.

The 5-star Sala Grand Tuy Hoa Hotel (Tuy Hoa Ward, Dak Lak Province) is famous and attracts tourists to stay. Therefore, there are currently many fake fanpages impersonating this hotel brand.

Many tourists have fallen victim to scammers when booking hotel rooms online.

Fake hotel fanpages often do not have an official hotline number, do not use a landline number, but only conduct transactions via personal mobile phone numbers. Tourists who do not carefully check the information before booking a room will easily fall into the sophisticated scam traps of these subjects.

Sala Grand Tuy Hoa Hotel’s Managing Director Trinh Quang Bao shared that many fan pages impersonating the hotel are so sophisticated that they even buy blue ticks to gain trust from tourists. These pages often launch promotional programs with prices lower than the actual price to entice customers to transfer deposits.

The easy-to-recognize point is that the official site always has a clear warning about fraud, operating only in Vietnam. Meanwhile, fake sites often have no warning, operating in many countries. This is the main sign for users to be vigilant and avoid falling into traps.

Be wary of fraudulent and fake sites when booking during the tourist season

Faced with the above situation, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Dak Lak Provincial Police) has stepped up propaganda to warn people about the fraudulent tricks of these subjects.

According to Dak Lak Provincial Police, the scammers' method is to create fake fanpages with eye-catching images and preferential prices. After customers contact them, they ask them to transfer a deposit immediately to their personal accounts. When they receive the money, they notify them of "wrong syntax" and ask them to provide an OTP code or transfer more money to "complete the transaction".

Also according to Dak Lak Provincial Police, to avoid fraud, people need to: check the date the fanpage was created, the number of real and fake interactions; find reviews from old customers on reputable review sites; call the homestay or hotel directly via the official phone number (find on the official website); do not transfer deposits via personal accounts; only pay via reputable platforms or corporate accounts (with business verification).

In addition, tourists need to be wary of offers that are too good, such as room rates that are unusually cheap compared to the market; especially, do not share OTP codes, credit card information, or personal bank cards.

Tuoi Tre Online launches free hotel service promotion registration nationwide

Information will be verified before posting, helping readers easily access reliable accommodation addresses, avoiding the risk of being scammed online.

From July 14, 2025, Tuoi Tre Online officially launched a free information posting service (including hotel name, address, booking link, phone number, website, hotel fanpage...) for all hotels and accommodation booking services nationwide.

All hotels and accommodation services will be posted completely free of charge for the first time with information about hotel services, booking links…

All posted information will be verified and posted publicly on the "Experience & Review" page of Tuoi Tre Online .

People will have the opportunity to experience, evaluate and choose good accommodation services.

This is also a transparent and public environment like a "service and product listing floor", where businesses dare to commit, users trust and experience, and eliminate "fraudulent links" that are widely spread on social networking platforms.

Process of registering to advertise hotel services for free on Tuoi Tre Online

To participate, businesses follow these 2 steps:

Step 1: Fill in registration information

Complete the registration form at this link.

Note: Please provide complete and accurate information and illustrations. Tuoi Tre Online will verify and edit before posting.

Step 2: Verify information directly at Tuoi Tre newspaper office

After completing the above form, the hotel representative needs to bring the business registration certificate to the nearest office of Tuoi Tre newspaper to:

- Verify legal information

- Sign the authentication commitment

- Take photos and save data

Tuoi Tre newspaper representative office accepts registration:

Hanoi Representative Office: 72A Thuy Khue, Tay Ho - (0979414862 - Mr. Tu)

Representative office in Ho Chi Minh City: 60A Hoang Van Thu, Duc Nhuan - (0865692124 - Mr. Tri)

Da Nang Representative Office: 09 Tran Phu, Hai Chau - (0905712357 - Mr. Tien)

Khanh Hoa Representative Office: 64 Le Dai Hanh, Nha Trang - (0376767091 - Mr. Loi)

Southwest Representative Office: 95 Ngo Quyen, Ninh Kieu, Can Tho City - (0907196789 - Mr. Cuong)