Recently, many people have appeared online pretending to be employees of hotels, homestays, resorts... to entice victims to book rooms and then take their money. This is a trick that has been around for a long time but is now appearing in a new form.
At some hotels and resorts in Da Nang City, there have been many cases where tourists booked rooms through the Facebook pages of resorts and hotels, paid or deposited 30-50% but when they arrived to check in, they discovered they had been scammed. Staff at the above mentioned establishments informed that there were no customers booking rooms with the names as described.
Specifically, the scammers created a series of fake websites and Facebook fanpages with names and images similar to resorts, hotels, motels, homestays... in Da Nang, then ran ads for cheap room rentals to find "prey".
When talking to customers, the scammer enthusiastically consults about services as well as offers promotional prices. In particular, to gain customers' trust, the scammer will attach many beautiful pictures, even comments from other customers to increase the level of credibility.
Once they have gained the trust of the guests, the subjects will ask for a quick transfer of the deposit. The reason is that hotels and motels are overloaded, and if guests do not book in advance, they will not be able to keep a room.
In particular, the subjects also created bank accounts with the same name as the hotel to create trust and ask victims to transfer deposits to appropriate them. Those who are gullible and do not verify the information will transfer the money immediately. After receiving the deposit, the subjects will appropriate this money, then block the social media accounts and cut off contact with the victims.
Faced with this situation, the Department of Cyber Security and High-Tech Crime Prevention of Da Nang City Police recommends that people be vigilant when receiving advertisements for rooms for rent at very cheap prices; especially when the subject asks for a deposit to hold the room.
At the same time, pay attention to the signs of fake websites/fanpages and carefully research and verify information about the location, facilities of the accommodation as well as the background of the service provider. Absolutely do not transfer deposits to unpopular hotels and motels. When detecting signs of fraud, people need to immediately report to the nearest police station for support.
