CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY
The use of online services or software with Internet access to defraud victims or to otherwise take advantage of them has become paramount in the society we live in today. A very common form of online fraud is the distribution of rogue security software. Internet services can be used to present fraudulent solicitations to prospective victims, to conduct fraudulent transactions, or to transmit the proceeds of fraud to financial institutions or to others connected with the scheme. Hospitality online transaction is not left out. Presently most hotels, resorts and tourism centers engaged in online transaction/payment such as room reservation and other services. Online fraud can occur in during the cause of reservation transaction. Online fraud could result from chat rooms, email, message boards, or on websites.
Hospitality reservation online fraud could occur in two ways. The first is when a criminal approaches the hotel management for online reservation and proposes a business transaction, and then uses fraudulent means to pay for it, using such as a stolen or fake credit card. As a result, the hotel management do not get paid for the transaction. The hotel who accepts credit cards may receive achargeback for the transaction and lose money as a result.
Secondly, the most common fraud is taken place using credit cards this is when the account numbers and pin numbers are obtained by malicious people (hotel staff) when a transaction is done and they use this information to withdraw money from the guest’s. , e.g.: a person named Kushela does a transaction using a credit card with hotel staff. During this transaction people (hotel staff) may steal this guest’s identity and act as him and request payment to an offshore account with an excuse that isn't verified to be true and just an excuse to steal the said credit card.
Therefore, the impact of online fraud committed in the course of reservation in the hospitality industry has resulted to loss of trust, for both hoteliers and guests for each other.