The travel industry has named five rules that will help you avoid running into scammers

In recent years, fraud in the travel industry has been on the rise. This seems to be due to a general decline in the level of income of the population, which is why people are increasingly pecking at dubious, but cheap offers from travel agents (and free cheese is still only found in mousetraps). So recently it became known that in Kazan, a businesswoman-travel agent deceived 150 people, sending them on non-existent tours and not returning the money. It turned out that complaints about her had been received by law enforcement agencies and the republican Rospotrebnadzor before, but she continued to “cheat” people with impunity. “MK” found out from the leaders of the tourism industry how not to run into scammers.

The stories of the tourists deceived by the head of the travel agency Diana Fattyakhova look like a blueprint. All customers found out a couple of hours before the flight that they were not flying anywhere. Everything was fine with Fattyakhova’s fantasy: she was able to constantly come up with convincing explanations, excuses, why this happened. The amount embezzled by the fraudster is tentatively estimated at 5 million rubles, but it could be more.

Information about the fraudulent activities of the travel agency Fattyakhova Kasatka Travel appeared in December. Despite the fact that complaints against her had long been accumulating in law enforcement agencies, she continued to fool people. Fattyakhova did all her work with clients through instant messengers, but sometimes she could invite someone to her so-called office – home. She accepted money in cash or by transfer to her husband’s card.

As MK found out, its travel company was liquidated on May 22, 2022, having existed for 10 years. As stated in the documents, the legal entity was excluded “due to the presence in the Unified State Register of Legal Entities of information about it, in respect of which an entry of unreliability was made.” Fattyakhova has been working in the tourism industry for quite a long time, and managed to change several travel companies. To date, he continues to be listed as the founder of two organizations associated, however, no longer with travel services, but with the trade in “liquid and gaseous fuels” and tobacco products.

– And it also affected us, – said a resident of Kazan, who bought the tour from Fattyakhova. – We were thrown on vacation, but, fortunately, Diana returned the money to us, albeit with great difficulty. But, of course, the rest and mood were spoiled! But it’s a shame for her acquaintances, Fattyakhova still hasn’t returned almost 200,000 rubles to them, which they paid her for the tour.

“This is another black story of such frauds,” says Svetlana Navalikhina, a travel agent from the capital. – In such cases, I always feel sorry for my honest colleagues. In order not to run into scammers, firstly, you need to make sure that the travel agency is included in the Unified Register of Travel Agents. Secondly, with regard to payment, customers should transfer money not to some personal cards, but through a bank, and then, accordingly, they should be given checks. Then there will be evidence that the payment went through.

In Kirov, as far as I know, not so long ago there was a similar case: the tourists did not fly anywhere and the money was not returned to them. At the same time, the travel agency did not work online, but received clients in the office, so the office does not confirm the reliability of the travel company.

– Do people ask you for any documents?

– Yes, especially when you work online, people may have doubts, and some ask for documents. Then we can provide them with a document that our travel agency is included in the Unified Register of Travel Agents.

Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin explained to MK point by point what you need to pay attention to when booking a tour:

– Most often, such problems arise in the case of working with a travel company that makes payments through a private account, an account of an individual, and without any reporting documents. This is the first symptom that should alert you that this company may be operating illegally.

In Russia, there is a Unified Register of Tour Operators and Travel Agents, and all tour operators included in it have insurance or a personal liability fund, as well as a reserve fund. Previously, this information was posted on the website of Rostourism, but since it was abolished, the register will now be posted on the website of the Ministry of Economic Development in the section on tourism.

The second point that Dmitry Gorin warned about:

– Most often, tourists purchase tours through travel agencies that work in cooperation with tour operators. (The tourist product is created and planned by the tour operator, and the travel agent is already interacting with tourists). After the conclusion of contracts between the travel agency and the tour operator, this information is automatically displayed in the register of travel agents.

Third. It is recommended to look at the history of the company, to study online reviews about it. As a rule, one can easily find negative comments about a particular travel agency on the Web: when such cases of tourist fraud occur, people always unite in groups, etc.

Fourth warning. Very large discounts should alert. “We must remember that there are discounts for early booking promotions, and they are completely safe,” continues Gorin. – Such promotions take place before the season; for example, now until the end of March there are discounts for the upcoming summer season. But when they start luring you with 50-70% discounts, this may indicate some kind of risk.”

Fifth rule. When booking on the Internet, you should track the domain name of the site, as fraudulent sites are often disguised under well-known brands of travel agents and tour operators. As a rule, they quietly correct some letters in the domain name or add numbers. By the way, the same problems exist with hotels.

Before paying, you should carefully read the conditions for canceling the tour, so that later there are no surprises.