Scam involving free 5-star cruise tours.

The scam group impersonated a reputable travel company, promising customers free television appearances and 5-star cruise experiences.

Starting July 25th, the fanpage "STAR Travel Blue Sea Excursion" began posting about a "real-life experience" program for families with young children during the summer. Participants are parents with children aged 3-17 who love travel , are not afraid of the sea, and enjoy exploring. Selected families will receive free cruises, appear on television in the program "Dad, Where Are We Going?", and interact with foreign tourists to improve their children's English skills.

A representative from this fanpage further explained that this is a program in collaboration with the travel company Best Price, with the participation of many media outlets. After submitting their information, participants will be added to a private group. At this point, they are asked to click on a link to a tour product worth 680,000 VND per person on the Best Price website. According to the explanation, this is an activity to "evaluate the quality of the tour," and upon completion, customers will receive a reward.

Participants need to fulfill all requirements to be considered for the main program. Next, the scammer asks participants to transfer money to an account under the name "NGUYEN MANH CUONG" atSHB bank, account number 0336542792. Participants are promised a full refund of their principal plus a 10% commission within 5-10 minutes of completing the survey. Those who are gullible are likely to lose their money and be blocked immediately after the transfer.

The request for money transfer is intended to defraud the scammer of their funds. (Screenshot)

Speaking to VnExpress , Mr. Bui Thanh Tu, Marketing Director of Best Price, affirmed that the company does not cooperate with the unit "STAR Travel Blue Sea Cruise".

"This is a fraudulent act, impersonating our company and the 'Dad, Where Are We Going?' program," Mr. Tú said.

Tourists are advised to be cautious of requests for bank transfers to personal accounts. Furthermore, customers should cross-check by contacting the support hotline of relevant organizations, in this case, Best Price. Currently, it's the peak summer travel season, so scam groups are "very active," and tourists need to be extra vigilant.

According to Mr. Tú, the tactics of these scammers are relatively similar, often preying on people's desire for cheap or free deals. Furthermore, the fan pages posting fraudulent content are usually newly created, with few posts and little interaction. For example, the "STAR Travel Blue Sea Excursion" fan page was created on July 25th and has only 18 followers.

Tu Nguyen

Source link: https://vnexpress.net/lua-dao-mien-phi-tour-du-thuyen-5-sao-4634645.html