According to Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Viet Travel Company, the end of the year, when the demand for family trips increases, is also the time when scammers become more active. Besides impersonating brands, these scammers also advertise cheap tours or visa services with a 100% guarantee of approval, offering free travel vouchers. Victims are often new travelers with little experience, who are tempted by low prices, or who encounter unexpected problems while traveling and are therefore impatient.
Ms. Bao Han, a resident of Ho Chi Minh City, was scammed out of 4 million VND online while traveling in Beijing in June. At the time, Ms. Han had lost her passport and posted a request for assistance on a travel group. A person claiming to be Bich Ngoc, a tour guide from Vietravel's Hanoi branch, messaged Ms. Han via Facebook, promising to help.
Ms. Han checked this person's profile and saw that the profile picture was an image of a girl wearing a Vietravel uniform, as well as company photos. She also called the hotline to inquire about the information and confirmed that there was an employee with that name.
Eager to get her visa in time for her return home, she agreed to transfer over 4 million VND to someone claiming to be named Bich Ngoc. "After transferring the money, I was immediately blocked," she said. Later, Ms. Han realized that the scammer had used the image and name of a Vietravel employee to create a fake Facebook account to deceive customers. The real employee named Bich Ngoc had never worked with her.
Mr. Pham Van Bay, Deputy Director of Vietravel's Hanoi branch, confirmed that as of October 4th, the company had recorded three cases of customers reporting being scammed by individuals impersonating company employees. These individuals were deceived when purchasing tours through online groups, mistakenly believing they were booking directly with Vietravel staff.
To avoid falling into traps, Mr. Bay advises customers to be wary of advertisements and offers for tours that are significantly cheaper than the average price or "unbelievable" promotions. Travel companies usually cannot sell tours at excessively low prices because they would incur losses.
According to Tran Thi Bao Thu, Director of Communications at Vietlux Tour, customers should choose companies with a reputable brand, ranking among the top companies in Vietnam. Besides signing contracts in person, tourists buying tours online should visit the company's fan page or website. Many large companies have verified fan pages (with a blue checkmark), which is also a sign that helps tourists avoid scams.
When visiting the website, tourists should check the hotline phone number. Is there consistency between the company and its representative offices? The company name will be spelled correctly on the fan page and website. Scam pages often have names that are similar but are missing or have extra characters. Fake domain names often use unusual extensions such as .cc, .xyz, .tk.
Ms. Thu stated that travel companies should regularly inform customers about their brand identity, official communication channels, and verified fan pages.
To be sure, when making a transaction, customers should ask the seller to show them the company's business license, international travel agency license, and airline agency certification. Customers should avoid purchasing services through personal Facebook pages with unclear profiles or groups with low-quality content, few interactions, and no clear buyer protection policies.
Pham Anh Vu, Deputy General Director of Vietnam Tourism, advised tourists to be cautious about requests for deposit payments. If possible, customers should make payments directly at the company's headquarters or offices, and be wary of offers to collect money at restaurants or cafes. If scammed, they should report it to the authorities.
Scammers often use unofficial phone numbers and email addresses, lack a clear office address, and are unable to provide invoices or officially stamped contracts.
"If tour sales staff refuse to provide detailed information or specific contracts, customers should stop the transaction immediately," Mr. Bay said. If there are any doubts about the authenticity of the service, customers should contact the travel company directly through official channels or their hotline for assistance.
Mr. Vu shared the "standard" tour booking process, which includes the following steps: customers contact the company via hotline or visit the office directly for consultation. After agreeing on the purchase, request the sales representative to send the official contract with the company's signature and seal. When making payment, customers only transfer money to the company's official account. The sales representative will confirm the transfer and send detailed trip information to the customer.
According to Mr. Bay, impersonating reputable travel companies to deceive customers not only directly affects customers' wallets but also has serious consequences for trust. These fraudulent acts also damage the Vietnamese tourism industry in general and individual businesses in particular, eroding customer confidence in legitimate businesses.
According to lawyer Nguyen Van Tuy of Khoa Tin Law Firm - Hanoi Bar Association, individuals and organizations who impersonate other agencies or organizations and then provide false information to attract and entice tourists to transfer money are committing fraud and misappropriation of property.
Currently, due to a higher level of public awareness, cases of fraud are not as common. However, fraudulent methods are becoming increasingly sophisticated. Therefore, people need to be more vigilant and cautious when choosing services such as booking tours, hotel rooms, and airline tickets on social media.
Travel companies strongly advise tourists to absolutely not transfer money into personal accounts when purchasing tours or services.
"The first rule customers need to remember is to only transfer money to the company's bank account because that's the only valid method," said Mr. Anh Vu.
TH (according to VnExpress)Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/dau-hieu-lua-dao-khach-viet-can-biet-khi-dat-tour-tren-mang-395737.html
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