Gov’t warns tourists over use of fake visa websites
THE Ministr y of Foreign Affairs and Internationa l Cooperation on Wednesday urged tourists to avoid websites of fering e-v isas for Cambodia af ter receiv ing fresh reports of tourists being ripped of f and losing their money.
The ministr y warned prospective v isitors to only use its of ficia l website as t here is no lega l framework in place to get back any money that is lost.
The ca ll comes after the ministr y found bogus websites – including cambodiaimmigration.org, which charged one unsuspecting tourist $ 300 – fa lsely claiming to be able to obtain e-v isas for v isitors to t he Kingdom.
One British nationa l complained to the Cambodian Embassy in London about the excessive cost of an e-v isa after t hey were charged $ 90 by one such website, which is far in excess of the ministr y’s own pricing.
According to t he ministr y’s of ficia l website, an application for an e-v isa for tourists should be made at ev isa.gov.k h. An e-v isa is va lid for three months and costs $ 36.
A Ministr y of Foreign Affairs spokesperson on Wednesday told The Post that the ministr y does not have t he framework in place to ta ke lega l action against fraudulent websites of fering e-v isas for foreign tourists over t he internet and ca lled on tourists to only use officia l channels.
Ket Sophann said on Wednesday t hat e-v isas ease t he application process while a lso reducing fees
for tourists. He warned that using other websites to apply for one would lead to the applicant being defrauded.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs calls for those wishing to visit Cambodia to only use the ministry’s website for an e-visa, or to go to their nearest embassy to avoid being deceived. We only issue visas this way,” he said.
The ministry released a letter in 2017 saying it had found 17 websites that fraudulently sell e-visas to tourists at a price far in excess of the true cost on the ministry’s website.
Sophann said he did not know an exact figure on the number of tourists who have been cheated by fraudulent websites.
Phat Sophanit, spokesman for the Ministry of Interior, and Kirth Chantharith, the director-general of the ministry’s General Immigration Department, could not be reached for comment.
Tho Samnang, an official at the Legal and Consular Department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told local media that those behind the fraudulent websites used a sophisticated system to defraud users.
When applicants typed in the words “Cambodia” and “e-visa”, the browser shows fake websites that have paid to be shown first in the results, he said. With the applicant unaware the sites are bogus, they register, complete the form and then send payment.
“After getting the money for the application, those running the fake websites send the forms to the ministry to issue the e-visa, but we always catch their IP address and do not issue one because the ministry does not permit brokers to act in this way,” he said.
A member of staff at a Phnom Penh tourism company said she was unaware of websites offering e-visas, saying only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and its official website could do so.