A group of Thai tourists have been allegedly tricked out of tens of 1000’s of baht by a pretend Pattaya pool villa Facebook web page.
Achiraya Malarat, a 27 12 months outdated Thai vacationer from Khon Kaen province, received in contact with The Pattaya News to expose a scammer who was pretending to be a genuine pool villa operator on Facebook.
On April 18, Achiraya and her household decided to take a break and pay a go to to Pattaya. Eager to find accommodation, she contacted a Facebook page known as “Pool Villa Pattaya by Kanda” to e-book a villa. The web page had many followers, which led Achiraya to consider it was a reliable supply, so she went ahead and transferred a deposit of 16,900 baht to cover the house insurance.
After transferring the cash, the Facebook page went offline for more than half a day. Achiraya tried contacting the web page through the supplied telephone quantity, only to find out that it was unreachable. Frustrated, she waited till she lastly received a reserving message from the web page.
Upon arrival at the lodging on April 22, Achiraya and her extended household of 18 individuals were dumbfounded when the real villa operator informed them that they’d fallen victim to a fake Facebook page. The operator mentioned that the villa was fully booked every single day and required bookings to be made a month in advance.
Shocked by the information, Achiraya tried to get in contact with “Paa Meaw,” a contact supplied by the Facebook web page, however unsurprisingly, this individual could not be reached. When Steal tried to contact the Facebook web page again, she was immediately blocked.
The villa operator informed Achiraya that the false Facebook page had been utilizing their villa’s pictures to deceive people and advised her to report the incident to the police.
Following this suggestion, Achiraya visited the Pattaya Police Station, where she was advised to file a report at her native police station for extra handy questioning. Distressed, she urged the Pattaya Police to indicate larger efforts in resolving the state of affairs because it could tarnish Pattaya’s status.
This story ought to serve as a cautionary tale for those trying to guide accommodation by way of social media. While Facebook pages could appear legitimate at first glance, it’s important to verify their authenticity earlier than making any transactions. Stay vigilant and be aware that scammers have gotten more and more crafty in their attempts to dupe unsuspecting tourists..