CCTV news: Nowadays, many people when traveling will choose to search for travel agency information online and then sign up for a group tour. Some travel agency websites certified by Baidu V have become a trusted source of information for some consumers. However, many consumers who participated in the "Hong Kong and Macao Tour" recently reported that the travel agency they searched for and joined the group through Baidu turned out to be a fake travel agency under the banner of a regular travel agency, also known as the "Wild Horse" travel agency. The trip therefore became a "bad trip".
During the Spring Festival, a Shanxi consumer, Ms. Xing, encountered forced shopping while traveling in Hong Kong.
Consumer Ms. Leave within an hour, which means you can’t leave without buying something. The jewelry cost more than 1,900. Then when we arrived at the watch store, it was the same arrangement as the jewelry store, so everyone bought a watch and came out after buying it. Then when we arrived at the chocolate store, you couldn't leave without buying it.
Ms. I started by contacting a travel website claiming to be China Travel Service.
Consumer Ms. Then we paid the deposit in advance to book our next trip. Then during this contact process, he promised us that he would not force consumption.
The reporter opened the website avCITS.com provided by Ms. The reporter noticed that this website mainly deals in travel to Hong Kong and Macao. The bottom of the page is also clearly marked with the "official website of China International Travel Service (Shenzhen) Travel Service" and the address is "Xin'an Building, Renmin South Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen City".
Subsequently, the staff on the phone asked to add the reporter’s WeChat account for further contact.
A person with the avatar of China International Travel Service (CITS) and the nickname "China International Travel Service" added the reporter's WeChat account. This staff member who called himself "China International Travel Service" sent the reporter an itinerary of "five days and four nights in Hong Kong and Macau". The reporter noticed that the words "China National Travel Service CITS" and "China National Travel Service (Shenzhen) International Travel Service " were also eye-catchingly marked at the top of the itinerary.
So, is the website where Ms. Xing participated in the Hong Kong and Macao tour really the official website of China National Travel Service?
The reporter followed the customer service notification and the address left on the webpage and came to "Xin'an Building, Renmin South Road, Luohu District, Shenzhen", but the reporter did not find this travel agency labeled as China Travel Service. According to this industry insider, many illegal institutions pretending to be China Travel Service are using this address to deceive consumers and even force the real China Travel Service away. These fake travel agencies are commonly known as "Mustang" travel agencies in Guangdong. They mainly use the Internet to publish false information and organize illegal tourism projects by forging other company names and travel agency license numbers. The
reporter then provided relevant information about the website to CITS (Shenzhen) International Travel Service Co., Ltd. to verify the authenticity.
Wu Chuangjie, deputy general manager of CITS (Shenzhen) International Travel Service Co., Ltd., said that after our verification, avcits.com does not exist for our CITS Shenzhen, including the CITS sales department in Xing'an Building.
The Shenzhen Consumer Council simulated the actual usage scenarios of consumer online searches and conducted a special test survey on Baidu search.
After the staff entered keywords such as "Hong Kong and Macao Travel International Travel" to search, the first information on the homepage was advertising information for a company called "Shenzhen International Travel Agency". The reporter noticed that the bottom of the information was clearly marked in blue. Words such as V2 level certification and advertising.Click on this information, and it says "Top 100 National Travel Agencies" in the upper left corner of the page. After clicking on the online customer service consultation, "Baidu has certified that you have entered the official customer service center" immediately pops up in the dialog box. The upper left corner of the dialog box also clearly states It is marked "Shenzhen International Travel Service". However, after verification by staff of the Shenzhen Consumer Council, this company was not included in the commercial subject registration information. Further investigation by
showed that the use of false information in Baidu plus V certified websites is not isolated.
According to the promotional materials promoted by Baidu, Baidu Credibility V certification means that after Baidu has verified the qualifications of the website operator, website security, website authority, etc., it will display the blue official website logo on the right side of the merchant’s official website title in the search results. To help netizens quickly identify authoritative and high-quality websites and prevent copycat websites and fake phishing websites from harming netizens. Baidu Reputation V Certification defines the reputation value levels as follows: Reputation Value V1: Basic reputation accumulation, you can visit with confidence; Reputation Value V2: Good reputation accumulation, you can trade with peace of mind; Reputation Value V3: Sufficient reputation accumulation, sustainable trust; Baidu Reputation V Certification will fully compensate users of all websites with V Certification if they encounter fraud.
