Google vs. “montaviajes”: Launches tools to combat fraud

MEXICO CITY (apro).- Google has two new tools that could be used to combat “montaviajes”, who appear in the search engine posing as travel agencies with offers to scam tourists.

“This year we have launched two new functions for users that allow them to filter first-hand some sites that are not trustworthy,” said Luis Ronces, Product Communication Manager at Google Mexico, in a conference with the media.

The new tools are:

• “About this result”: allows – with a single click – to know the information of a website, such as the owner of the page, the owner of the company or the travel agency. According to the manager, the information is reliable.
• “About this image”: allows users to know if the images on a website were created with Artificial Intelligence (AI), if so, Internet users can be warned, using this tool and thus consult the sites Slowly.

“Scammers” are cybercriminals who advertise overly attractive offers through travel packages, airline tickets or hotel reservations. Once they convince their victims to make a partial or full payment to “set aside” the service or “respect” the price, the supposed agency disappears.

The trend of these frauds is increasing by 217% nationwide, going from 77 cases in 2021 to 244 in 2022, and to 365 in 2023, reported the Citizen Council for Security and Justice of Mexico City.

According to the president of this organization, Salvador Guerrero Chiprés, by March 2024, 79 cases were reported.

According to Guerrero Chiprés – for every 100 thousand inhabitants – the municipalities that report this fraud the most are Miguel Hidalgo, Benito Juárez and Cuauhtémoc. Those with the least reports are Tláhuac, Magdalena Contreras and Iztapalapa.

74% of the victims are women; 68% of the cases involve people between 31 and 60 years old, who are the ones who report the most, according to data from this organization.

The president of the Citizen Council announced that this type of fraud is not restricted to Mexico City, but occurs in other states. The entities with the most reports are the State of Mexico, Jalisco, Querétaro, Puebla and Chihuahua.