Authorities warn against fake Vietnam Airlines websites

Many websites similar to that of state-owned Vietnam Airlines are defrauding customers, the Ministry of Information and Communications’ Authority of Information Security said in a recent release.

Fraudsters use address names such as "vietnamairslines" (with an extra "s") and vietnamaairlines (with an extra "a") to fool customers, and their websites look similar to the carrier’s.

Customers are informed their chosen flights are full, but they can contact the seller on a phone number for more information.

The fraudsters then ask the customer to make immediate payment to secure the last tickets available.

Some receive a booking code on a legitimate Vietnam Airlines flight but it will soon be canceled automatically since the fare was not paid.

The authority said: "All transactions are carried out online. After receiving the money, the fraudsters will cease all communication with the victims."

It added that some customers have reported being fooled by "winning promotion tickets" messages which include a link.

The fraudsters in this case steal the victims’ personal data or credit card information.