Riviera Maya: hotel alarm due to boom in reservation fraud

At least ten hotels in the Riviera Maya have been victims of fraud committed in their name by pirate Travel agencies, through various anonymous websites and social networks. This was reported by Offner Arjona, president of the Playa del Carmen Hotel Association, who pointed out that these cases have occurred in just the last few weeks.

In this regard, the Hotel leader said that it is worrying that criminals who operate this type of fraud with promotions on social networks that hook people continue to appear. He indicated that these frauds translate into great economic losses for hotels, since they are obliged to compensate the damage to the people who were scammed. “Obviously, there are guests who have fallen for this type of fraud and, once again, it is the company that must compensate the damage,” he added.

He regretted that criminals are finding new ways to scam people and that they are targeting this sector, which, he said, “is unprotected.” He pointed out that the exponential growth of these frauds is forcing hotels to create teams specialized in cybercrime to stop this practice.

He said that shortly after the pandemic, these types of scams began offering packages, but that they have increased considerably in recent months.

As reported by REPORTUR.mxthe Quintana Roo Tourism Secretariat (Sedetur), led by Bernardo Cueto, is warning tourists about fraud in the purchase of vacation packages for this summer, so they have reinforced the “Verify and Travel” campaign. (Cancun: CPTQ warns of more fraud in packages for tourists).

“It is important to do what is necessary to protect consumers from fraud, and fraud continues to lurk among those looking for vacation options. We have done a lot of work in Quintana Roo, but it is necessary to also take the information to other states, which are the areas where travelers come from,” the head of the entity indicated at the time.