The matrix of room booking fraud during peak summer tourist season

Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort's real Facebook page and the fake Facebook page (X). Only Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort staff can distinguish the fake page because the phone number displayed is incorrect.

Fake Facebook Octopus Tap

Sending a letter to Ba Ria-Vung Tau Newspaper, a representative of Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort said that the situation of fake resort Facebooks started appearing since 2024 and has shown no signs of stopping. The fake Facebook also has a blue tick (home page) and a large number of visitors. Even the resort's network administrator cannot easily detect it because whatever the real Facebook posts, the fake Facebook immediately copies it. The fake Facebook even runs ads and has a beautiful interface to attract viewers.

“We continuously present evidence of fake pages to Facebook’s management unit. As of early May, 45 fake Facebook pages have been blocked. However, there are still 25 more fake pages operating. Tourism is in the busiest season of the year, in addition to defending ourselves with warnings on the resort’s promotional tools, we also send letters to relevant government agencies, hoping for support in finding solutions,” said Ms. Mai Le Thi Thao Nguyen, Marketing Director of Meliá Ho Tram Beach Resort.

Many large resorts and hotels that have built their brands have been tricked by fake Facebook pages to trick customers into booking rooms. The tricks to "trap" customers are similar, copying the official page, including warnings about scams on the internet. Internet users only need to click on the fake page and immediately a series of messages advising on services will come in, surrounded by a matrix of attractive gifts and promotions. Customers believe it, transfer deposits and immediately fall into the trap.

Le Palmier Ho Tram representative said, According to incomplete statistics, in the past 2 years, customers have been tricked into booking rooms through fake Facebook for over 500 million VND.

Increase warning communication

At the end of May 2025, the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism chaired a meeting with the resorts that reported the above situation. The meeting was attended by representatives of the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention (Provincial Police), the Department of Science and Technology and the Provincial Tourism Association.

At the meeting, representatives of the resorts said that the situation of fake Facebook pages is active again during the peak summer tourism season. The resorts have done everything to increase vigilance for tourists such as pinning warning posts, instructing guests on how to identify fake pages pinned at the top of the resort's digital platforms (Zalo, Facebook, Tiktok, website).

“Although online shopping is being promoted because of its speed and convenience, we accept not accepting reservations via Facebook during this period, but instead instruct guests to visit the resort’s website and contact the hotline to learn about the service to minimize falling into scams,” said Ms. Dong Thi Thu Hong, in charge of sales and marketing at Emerald Ho Tram Resort.

According to Mr. Do Phuoc Trung, Deputy Director of the Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the situation of impersonating fanpages and websites of reputable tourist accommodation establishments has been and is happening complicatedly, not only causing direct damage to consumers but also affecting the reputation of service establishments and the image of the locality. Therefore, it is urgent to coordinate synchronously and drastically between State management agencies, the Provincial Police, the Tourism Association, the media and the tourism business community to protect legitimate rights, prevent and minimize risks to consumers, and enhance the image of professional and friendly tourism.

In particular, focusing on warnings and orientations to increase vigilance for tourists. The Department of Culture, Sports and Tourism will send information about cases of fraud and scams of tourists when booking rooms through social networking sites, along with recommendations and instructions on identifying scams on the internet, to media agencies inside and outside the province, requesting support in spreading information so that tourists have more opportunities to access complete, official information. The Department also compiles a list of star-rated tourist accommodation establishments, focusing on building reputation with links, phone numbers, emails, etc., published on the website of the Department and the Provincial Tourism Association to increase search channels and access to reputable service addresses for tourists.

Tourism businesses need to continue to proactively protect themselves and their customers' legitimate rights; continuously post warnings about fake Facebook on their digital information pages; strengthen network management, promptly detect fake pages and continuously send fake page reports to the parent company to request page blocking; support customers in reporting to the nearest police agency when detecting signs of fraud and deposit appropriation.

"The Department is also discussing with the Provincial Tourism Association to issue warnings via SMS messages on mobile networks, and at the same time recommending to the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism and the National Tourism Administration the above fraudulent methods and tricks so that there can be a general warning nationwide," added Mr. Do Phuoc Trung.

Article and photos: DANG KHOA

Source: https://baobariavungtau.com.vn/phap-luat/202506/ma-tran-lua-dat-phong-vao-cao-diem-du-lich-he-1044422/