Three arrested for allegedly swindling tourists with fake hotel bookings

PATTAYA – Three suspects were arrested on May 21 for allegedly using fake Facebook pages to deceive tourists, causing losses of around 700,000 baht (S$28,000) in fraudulent hotel bookings, Thai police said on May 22.

The Tourist Police Bureau said the suspects were arrested in three separate raids in Chanthaburi, Bangkok and Ayutthaya under arrest warrants issued by the Pattaya Provincial Court.

They are accused of creating deceptive Facebook pages for popular Pattaya hotels and luring tourists into transferring money for room reservations.

According to the bureau, the suspects allegedly cheated tourists of at least 700,000 baht, based on transaction records linked to their bank accounts.

The suspects reportedly used similar tactics, offering cheap room rates at promotional prices and urging tourists to pay an initial small deposit.

They then contacted their victims via Facebook, pressing them to pay the full amount plus a room guarantee deposit, claiming that the promotions were valid only for the current month and had limited availability.

But after victims transferred the money, they found out upon check-in that no bookings had been made and that the bank accounts used for payment did not belong to the hotels.

The three suspects have been handed over to Pattaya police to face charges.

The Tourist Police have urged people to verify that Facebook pages genuinely belong to hotels before transferring money to reserve rooms. THE NATION/ASIA NEWS NETWORK

Join STs Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.