Pham Ngoc Linh from Hanoi was among the victims of the scam. Linh said that earlier this month, he found an advertisement about attractive discounts for five-star Ha Long Ambassador cruise tours for three days and two nights on Google. The price was just VND1-2 million per person. Children under six were free.

The fake fanpage Du Thuyen Ha Long

He then booked vouchers for nine members of his family for VND14 million (USD595.74) through the Facebook page. He thought that the discount price was part of promotional activities by tour companies after the Covid-19 pandemic.

He was asked to transfer half of the money as a deposit for the trip scheduled to take place in May.

"I made the deposit on April 8, but around two weeks later, I discovered that my account had been blocked by the page. I immediately contacted the hotline of the Ambassador Cruise brand, the service provider, and found out that I had been cheated,” Linh added.

According to Linh, the Facebook page admin sent him a bank account with the final numbers being 9999 and the holder’s name being Du Thuyen Ha Long. This had convinced him that believe it was an official business account.

He then wrote a status about how he was tricked to warn other people on his Facebook. Linh also informed the police about the incident.

A representative from Ambassador Cruise said that since February his firm has received complaints from more than 20 people, including foreigners, about being swindled when buying Ha Long cruise vouchers in the same way as Linh. Some small tourism agents have also fallen victim.

The representative noted that the fake Du Thuyen Ha Long Facebook page had copied images and content from his firm’s official page. Its bank account name and receipt were both registered in the form of an enterprise to convince customers.

The company has posted a notice on its Facebook page and to agents.

After reporting the case to Facebook’s support team, the fraudulent Du Thuyen Ha Long page was removed.

Ambassador Cruise are selling a Ha Long cruise tour for VND4 million per person per night.

Source: Dtinews