PNP warns public vs. online staycation scams

The Philippine National Police (PNP) warned the public to be cautious of vacation accommodation offers posted online as many Filipinos begin planning their summer trips.

In Ivan Mayrina’s report on “24 Oras Weekend” on Sunday, Leslie Madrigal and her friends said they make sure to carefully research their destination to avoid losing their savings to scams.

“We actually read the comments on a post. Then we sometimes send a personal message on Facebook to the people who commented to check if their review of that place was legit,” she said.

The PNP Anti-Cybercrime Group (ACG) said so-called vacation scams are expected to increase as Holy Week approaches.

“These so-called vacation or accommodation scams are typically carried out by cybercriminals through the posting of fake staycation or resort offers,” said PNP-ACG spokesperson Police Lieutenant Wallen Mae Arancillo.

The PNP-ACG said it has already received 29 complaints in the first two months of the year involving fraudulent accommodation offers.

How to spot fake accommodation offers

• Authorities advised the public to watch out for several red flags:
• Offers that are “too good to be true” or significantly cheaper than similar resorts. Travelers are advised to verify with the local government unit if the resort or accommodation actually exists and is registered to operate.
• Immediate requests for down payment before proper verification of the accommodation.
• Suspicious photos that may have been copied from other websites. Travelers can verify images through online searches.

For those who fall victim to scams, the PNP-ACG advised keeping all evidence.

“It is important that we keep all evidence, such as screenshots of the conversation, payment receipts, the scammer's account details, and the link to the pages or the specific account used by the scammer,” Arancillo said.—Vince Angelo Ferreras/MCG, GMA Integrated News