Travelers hunting for cheap flights and tour bargains must beware of people posing as agents of AirAsia Philippines on social media, the budget carrier warned Tuesday, Aug. 22.
Several Facebook groups and individuals have claimed to represent the AirAsia brand, even using it for unofficial dealings and offering tourism-related products.
These Facebook groups using AirAsia’s name also promote suspicious online transactions, such as job offerings which led to Phishing and other forms of online scams.
The purchase of tickets, offering of promos, and other ancillary products can only be done through the airasia Superapp, its website, and AirAsia’s more than 850 travel agency partners throughout the country.
"We want to safeguard our guests from scams and other forms of online fraud, especially since most transactions are at their fingertips,” said AirAsia Philippines Communications and Public Affairs Country Head, First Officer Steve Dailisan.
Already, 51 percent of 1,005 Filipinos polled in a recent survey, claimed to have been victims of phishing - a form of fraud that collects personal information, credit card numbers, and passwords.
On the other hand, 33 percent were victims of third-party seller scams on legitimate online retail websites.
The Philippine National Police Anti-Cybercrime Group noted that cyber crime cases increased to 4,104 cases from January to June 2023.
The personal information of AirAsia Philippines guests should only be collected through airasia.com or airasia Superapp, Dailisan underscored.
"The moment a group or an individual allegedly representing our brand solicits your personal information or asks for money, drop the transaction immediately and report them to proper authorities,” said Dailisan.