The tourist flow is filtered by bots – Newspaper Kommersant No. 26 (7471) of 02/13/2023
[ad_1]
Obtaining visas for Russians to the EU and the US was complicated not only by Western restrictions, but also by unofficial intermediaries. The latter create bots for automatic registration in visa centers, which intercept slots and demand more than 4–7.5 thousand rubles from citizens for them. It is not difficult to write such a program, experts say, and it will not even be illegal. The ability of the Russian authorities to combat such practices is limited, and the efforts of the consulates have not yet borne fruit. Bots not only increase the costs of citizens, but also create additional delays in obtaining visas.
As three participants in the tourism market told Kommersant, making an appointment to apply for Schengen visas has become more difficult due to the spread of special bots created by third parties.
They reserve all free slots on the website of the visa centers, repeating the search task every minute, which greatly complicates attempts to self-register, said Yulia Otvagina, deputy head of the Continent Express visa and migration department.
Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin adds that the additional burden from bots is superimposed on the limited number of slots available and the increased demand for visas.
Despite the suspension of direct flights and a number of restrictions on the entry of Russians, their flow to Europe has not stopped completely. Ostrovok.ru says that from the beginning of 2023, European destinations occupy 13% in the structure of foreign bookings. According to OneTwoTrip, EU countries now account for 6% of the total volume of booked flights abroad for February-May.
The problem is especially relevant when applying to the French visa center in Moscow, says Marina Shirokova, managing partner of Visakhod. The same difficulties arise in the visa centers of Italy and Spain, adds Alina Protsenko, head of the Aeroclub visa support department.
Bot services are being promoted on specialized travel forums and ad sites, Kommersant discovered.
So, at the Vinsky Forum, such an entry to the French visa centers in Moscow and St. Petersburg is offered at a price of 7.5 thousand rubles. for the applicant, in the regions – for 4 thousand rubles. There are similar offers on Avito. Kommersant sent questions to the sellers of such services, but received no answers. Nikita Kulikov, founder of ANO PravoRobotov, says that bots are sold on DarkNet and are developed to order.
In the case of visa centers, the solutions work due to the ability to take several slots through one account, Mr. Kulikov believes. He clarifies that a technology is possible in which a separate account is created for each slot. Even a student can write such a program, emphasizes Vladislav Bauer, head of Android development for red_mad_robot Central Asia.
The legislation does not provide for liability for the creation of bots if they “do not have signs of a virus,” explains atLegal partner Alexander Pavlovsky.
According to him, this is not about writing to the Russian state authority, therefore the powers of the Russian authorities to suppress such a business are limited. The expert does not see any signs of violation of consumer rights, since “visa recipients do not purchase the service during electronic registration in the queue.”
Mr. Pavlovsky believes that the problem can be solved by direct actions of the site administration. But Nikita Kulikov warns that bots overcome a barrier like Captcha with the help of a person, and more significant restrictions can create problems for real users. Mr. Bauer believes that it is possible to block bots by IP addresses, having established that the same type of actions are regularly carried out from them.
Visa centers and consulates are aware of the problem and are constantly introducing additional levels of user identification, but the bots are being reconfigured, Yulia Otvagina says.
VSF Global (the operator of France’s visa centers) did not respond to Kommersant’s request.
Problems with bots arise not only in European destinations. Ms. Otvagina says that they are also used to sign up Russians to apply for visas to the United States in third countries, for example, in Armenia, Kazakhstan, Georgia, and the United Arab Emirates. Because of this, the submission of documents is stretched for six months or more.
Yulia Otvagina emphasizes that large companies do not use bots to record clients: “The transfer of the applicant’s personal data to third parties is unacceptable under the terms of contracts.” This is confirmed by the interlocutor of “Kommersant” in the market: “We help clients with recording, but we are looking for slots in manual mode.” According to Dmitry Gorin, as a result, tour operators recommend that tourists start issuing visas six months before the trip. Marina Shirokova advises to apply in the regions. This is possible in the case of France, where the work of visa centers is not tied to consular districts, unlike Italy and Spain. Alina Protsenko recommends submitting documents through VIP lounges at visa centers.
[ad_2]
Source link
