Public urged to watch for booking scams

CEBU, Philippines —  The Regional Anti-Cybercrime Unit 7 (RACU-7) urged the public to be cautious of online booking scams and reminded everyone to book only through the official pages of hotels and resorts to avoid falling victim to fraud during the summer season.

In a press conference yesterday, May 26, RACU-7 chief Police Colonel Artemio Ricabo said that several complaints in relation to online scam, libel, hacking, and identity theft were reported to their office.

Online booking scams in particular, become more common especially during the summer season when tourists inquire about resort and hotel bookings online.

He also added that tourists usually fall victim to fraud after booking a reservation on fake Facebook pages of hotels and resorts that not only copy its basic information but also their legitimate resort activities.

Authorities advised the public to avoid rushing into transactions, especially those involving limited slots as several fraudulent pages impersonating official hotel and resort Facebook accounts have been offering steep discounts and special deals to entice tourists into making bookings.

Additionally, police remind the public to verify the validity and authenticity of the hotel’s/resort’s Facebook page and their existing promos and discounts before booking as well as their provided GCash account if it is consistent with the hotel/resort’s information.

When asked about their current action, Ricabo said investigations in relation to online booking scam are now ongoing while several impersonations of official Facebook accounts of hotels and resorts were already reported to META.

He said several challenges were faced by the office in resolving the said issue including the identification of the suspects and the subscriber’s identity, and the dragging process of the investigation.

He added that several legal safeguards, including the Data Privacy Act and Bank Secrecy Law, further drag the process of acquiring the identification of suspects and subscribers, as well as bank transactions involved, as it requires a warrant of disclosure that usually takes up to about one month to be issued.

Ricabo further said investigations regarding most cases are still ongoing as victims tend to feel discouraged by the slow progress of the investigation.

“If makahibalo nana atong mga biktima, ma-discourage nana sila. Diha nata ma-hanging kay ngano mo-pursue pa man ko sa kaso nga wala namay chance nga ma-recover akong kwarta…hasol sa part nila,” Ricabo said.

Authorities said several cases in relation to online booking scams were already reported to their office and are still under investigation. — Paul Benedict Sariana, CNU intern/BRP (FREEMAN)