Beware of scams in the tourism sector.

Following recent incidents of online fraud and embezzlement in the tourism sector, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration has sent a document to the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism (CST) and Tourism Departments of provinces and centrally-administered cities.

According to Mr. Nguyen Trung Khanh, Director of the Vietnam National Tourism Administration, in recent times, the situation of fraud and property theft in the tourism sector, especially online booking scams, has shown signs of increasing. Fraudsters are using sophisticated and unpredictable tactics.

Some of the tactics include creating fake websites and fan pages impersonating reputable tourism businesses, using deceptive discount and promotional schemes, and requiring advance deposits… all aimed at defrauding people, negatively impacting the image of the tourism industry, and causing public outrage.

Be extra cautious when booking tours and accommodations through websites and fan pages to avoid being scammed.

In implementing Prime Minister 's Directive No. 139/CĐ-TTg dated December 23, 2024, on strengthening the prevention, suppression, and handling of high-tech fraud and property appropriation activities in cyberspace; to further strengthen measures to prevent, suppress, and handle fraudulent acts, protect the legitimate rights of tourists and the reputation of the tourism industry, and enhance the responsibility and awareness of tourism businesses as well as the public and tourists, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration has sent a document to the tourism management departments of localities.

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Accordingly, the Vietnam National Tourism Administration requests the Departments of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the Departments of Tourism in localities to strengthen propaganda to tourism service businesses and the public to understand new forms and tricks of fraud in the tourism sector; advise people to carefully research information of tourism service providers in general and tourist accommodation establishments in particular before booking services and making payment transactions; and only book services on official websites and fanpages of tourism service businesses provided by local tourism management agencies or through reputable booking platforms.

The Department also requested strengthening inspection and supervision work, promptly detecting and handling violations in accordance with the law; receiving and promptly resolving related letters and complaints from citizens within its authority; coordinating with functional agencies to regularly review and prevent fake websites and fanpages, and strictly handling individuals engaging in fraudulent activities.

Industry leaders requested that local management departments provide information on registered tourism service businesses in their areas so that residents and tourists can be aware of and book services. They also requested coordination in updating complete information on local tourism service providers onto the Vietnam National Tourism Administration's database for widespread and official publication nationwide.

The Vietnam National Tourism Administration requires local tourism service businesses to enhance their sense of responsibility in protecting customers; regularly review and promptly detect fake information platforms and social media pages impersonating their tourism service businesses; proactively coordinate with competent authorities to promptly resolve and handle related incidents; and refrain from spreading or exploiting false information about tourism service businesses to attract tourists.

In addition, strengthen the application of security measures to prevent intrusion and impersonation; provide information on official websites, fan pages, and social media platforms to the local tourism management department to enhance the identification of official fan pages and websites and prevent impersonation.

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Previously, the online community was abuzz with a social media post about a female tourist (from Hai Phong) who was scammed out of billions of VND when booking rooms at a resort in Ninh Binh. Specifically, the tourist booked two rooms for two adults and two children, from January 31st to February 3rd, through a fake Facebook fan page impersonating the Kenh Ga Island resort (Gia Vien district, Ninh Binh). After exchanging messages, the female tourist confirmed the two rooms and paid a deposit of approximately 6.5 million VND. However, she was informed that the transfer had been made with the wrong purpose, and therefore the system could not automatically confirm the booking request. The fake Facebook fan page then asked the female tourist to copy the code provided by the resort into the transfer details for accounting confirmation.

At this point, the customer was asked to activate a VNPay account for herself and transfer money into it using the syntax provided by the employee as a guarantee. Under the pretext of incorrect transaction details, the customer was repeatedly forced to transfer increasingly large sums of money into the VNPay account, starting at 39.5 million VND, then 125.6 million VND, 379.6 million VND, and finally 485.6 million VND. The total amount transferred exceeded 1 billion VND. Only when the female tourist could no longer contact the resort did she realize she had been scammed.

Source: https://daidoanket.vn/canh-giac-lua-dao-trong-linh-vuc-du-lich-10299904.html