Checking travel companies, contracts and refunds before you book
Before you book
Red flags when you book a tour online
Vietnam's tourism authority and its trade ministry have both warned about the same pattern: a copy of a real company's website or social page, a price well below the market, pressure to pay quickly, and money that disappears with the seller.
Contents
What official warnings describe
In February 2025 the Vietnam National Authority of Tourism told provincial tourism departments that online fraud was rising. Scammers were setting up websites and fanpages that imitate established tourism businesses, advertising false discounts, and taking deposits. Its advice to travellers was to research a provider before paying and to book through official websites and pages or reputable booking platforms.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade described four patterns in an earlier warning: cheap tours and rooms that ask for a deposit of 30 to 50 percent, then keep it; visa services that promise a refund if refused and never pay one; fake websites and pages of real companies that send fake receipts and then block contact; and hijacked social accounts that ask friends and family for urgent money.
A June 2025 report in Sai Gon Giai Phong added detail: impersonators bought old fanpages, renamed them and kept the verification tick; one offer was a luxury Ha Long cruise for 3 million dong a person with a discount for the group leader; sellers pushed "only a few places left" and asked for transfers to personal accounts. In June 2026 the tourism authority told travel businesses to watch for fake websites and accounts that impersonate them, and to tell customers to pay only through official channels.
Sources: Lawyers of Vietnam — VNAT warning on fake websites and fanpages, February 2025; Ministry of Industry and Trade — warning on booking, flight and tour scams; Sai Gon Giai Phong — cheap tours and fake combos, June 2025; Lawyers of Vietnam — VNAT dispatch 1744/CDLQGVN-LH, June 2026 · last checked .
Red flags and what to do about each
| Red flag | Why it matters | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Payment to a personal account | The legal entity on the register is a company; a personal payee breaks the link between the contract and the money | Ask for the company account in writing, or pay by card to the company |
| No licence number, or one that belongs to another company | Copied sites reuse real numbers | Search the number on the register and contact the company through the details listed there |
| Price far below similar programmes | Official warnings link unrealistic prices to fake offers | Ask what is excluded, and compare the inclusions line by line |
| Pressure: "only today", "two seats left" | Urgency stops you running checks | Take the time; a real departure with space will still be there tomorrow |
| Contact only through a messaging app | No traceable company address or email | Ask for a written contract from a company email address |
| Receipt sent as an image | Fake receipts are part of the pattern described by the trade ministry | Check the payment in your own bank or card app, not the seller's screenshot |
| Website registered recently, or a domain one letter off | Copies imitate the real address | Type the address from the register, not from an advert or message |
Sources: Ministry of Industry and Trade — warning on booking, flight and tour scams; Sai Gon Giai Phong — cheap tours and fake combos, June 2025; Lawyers of Vietnam — VNAT warning on fake websites and fanpages, February 2025; VNAT register — international travel businesses · last checked .
Copied websites and the e-commerce logo
Vietnamese websites that sell their own goods or services must notify the Ministry of Industry and Trade before selling, under Decree 52/2013/ND-CP as amended by Decree 85/2021/ND-CP. After notification the site receives a logo marked as notified to the ministry, and the logo links to a confirmation page on the ministry's system. Platforms where others trade register instead and show a different logo.
The logo helps only if you click it. Scammers have used the names and logos of the ministry's e-commerce department to look official. A genuine logo opens the ministry's own confirmation page for that exact domain and owner. A logo that does nothing, opens an image, or names another business is a warning, not a guarantee of anything.
Two cross-checks catch most copies: the domain on the register entry, where one is listed, and the enterprise record on the National Business Registration Portal. If the copy uses a real company's name, write to that company through the details on the register before paying anyone.
Sources: Ministry of Industry and Trade — notifying e-commerce websites; Luat Minh Khue — the 'notified' and 'registered' e-commerce logos (law firm); Lawyers of Vietnam — scammers misusing the e-commerce department's name and logo; National Business Registration Portal; VNAT register — international travel businesses · last checked .
Reviews that read alike
No public register checks reviews, and we cannot tell you which ones are genuine. What you can do is read them the way a fraud analyst would. Warning patterns include a burst of five-star reviews within a few days, reviewers with a single review to their name, the same phrases repeated across different reviewers, and praise that never mentions a date, a route or a guide's name.
Read the low ratings first, and read the company's replies to them. A company that answers complaints with specifics is telling you how it will treat yours. Check that the business name on the review platform matches the legal name on the register; impersonators borrow real companies' reviews by linking to them.
Reviews on a page that was bought and renamed belong to the old page. The June 2025 report described exactly that tactic, so a page's history matters as much as its rating.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — cheap tours and fake combos, June 2025 · last checked .
Paying in a way you can recover
The Vietnamese press warning of 2025 put it bluntly: do not pay into personal accounts. A card payment to the company gives you a dispute route through your card issuer. A bank transfer is fast to send and slow or impossible to recall once the receiving account has been emptied.
If a company asks for a transfer, the account name should be the company's legal name. Ask for a written invoice that shows the company name, its licence number, the booking reference and the amount, and keep it with the contract. The refunds page explains what each payment method lets you recover.
Sources: Sai Gon Giai Phong — cheap tours and fake combos, June 2025 · last checked .
If you have already paid
- Contact your bank or card issuer at once and ask what they can do: a card dispute, or a recall request for a transfer.
- Keep everything: the website address, screenshots of the page, messages, the receipt and the payment record.
- Report it to the police. The UK Foreign Office advises reporting a crime to local police as soon as possible, getting a police report, and reporting before you leave if you want it investigated.
- Tell the real company if a copy used its name, and the provincial tourism department where the fake seller claimed to operate.
- Use the routes on the complaint page for anything involving a licensed company.
Sources: UK Foreign Office — victim of crime abroad; Lawyers of Vietnam — VNAT dispatch 1744/CDLQGVN-LH, June 2026 · last checked .
Common questions
Questions readers ask
Is a verification tick on a social page proof that a seller is real?
No. A June 2025 report described impersonators buying old verified pages, renaming them and keeping the tick. Check the company on the official register instead.
The seller sent me a photo of their business licence. Is that enough?
A photo can be copied from the real company. Search the licence number on the register yourself and contact the company through the details shown there.
Why would a real company ask for payment to a personal account?
Some small businesses do, but it removes the link between the contract and the money. Ask for a company account or card payment, and if that is refused, consider a different seller.
Where can I report a fake tour website in Vietnam?
Report fraud to the police and keep the report. Tell the provincial tourism department and the company whose name was used. The complaint page lists the official channels.
Related
Read next
Before you book
Check a licence
Step-by-step check of a travel company on the official VNAT register, with licence number formats and limits.
Money
Refunds
How deposits, cancellation charges, refunds and card disputes work, and what is realistic in each case.
Paperwork
Contract and confirmation
The five items the Law on Tourism requires in a travel contract, plus what a good confirmation adds.
When something goes wrong
Complaints
The order of complaint channels in Vietnam, what each one handles, and what to put in your complaint.
Before you book
Agents and operators
Licensed operators, travel agents and overseas platforms compared, and what each means for your contract.
Independent guide for travellers
Home
Start here: the checks to run on a travel company in Vietnam, from licence to complaint.
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