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Cambodia cautions on eVisa services

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PHNOM PENH, 8 February 2019: Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, Wednesday, urged tourists to avoid websites offering eVisas for Cambodia that allegedly scam tourists.

Phnom Penh Post broke the news saying the ministry warned visitors to use only the government’s official website.

The daily newspapers said there was no recourse for scammed tourists to get a refund.

The ministry claimed it has uncovered bogus websites with the daily newspaper identifying one as  ‘cambodiaimmigration.org’, which allegedly billed one unsuspecting tourist USD300, while claiming it was authorised to process eVisas for visitors to the Kingdom.

One British national complained to the Cambodian Embassy in London about the excessive cost of an eVisa after they were charged USD90 by a website, well over the officially published fees.

According to the ministry’s official website, an application for an eVisa for tourists should be made at evisa.gov.kh. An eVisa is valid for three months and costs USD36.

Privately run visa services that are online justify the additional cost as a service fee.

However, according to the Phnom Penh Post the government does not have the framework in place to take legal action against fraudulent websites offering eVisas for foreign tourists.  Tourist should use only use official channels.

Earlier in 2017 the ministry said it had identified 17 websites that were fraudulently selling eVisas to tourists at a price far in excess of the actual cost as stated on the ministry’s website.

No data is available on the number of complaints registered by tourists who were victims of an eVisa scam.

Some of the websites have paid for a up-top ranking on popular search engines and unsuspecting tourists simply fill out the form pay the fee by credit card without knowing the the sites are not registered to process eVisa applications.

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, the ministry spokesperson told the daily newspaper. With the applicant unaware that the sites were bogus, they completed the form and approved credit card payment.

TTR Weekly checked out the “Cambodia” and “Visas” key words and the Google search indicated the top-of-the page entry was an ad placement for eVisa Cambodia Application, www.cambodiaonlinevisa.org. That was followed in second place by a listing for www.cambodiaimmigration.org/Cambodia-eVisa one of the websites identified in the Phnom Penh Post report.

The official website https://www.mfaic.gov.kh/ was fourth on the first page listing, below the paid listed eVisa services.

TripAdvisor reviews have warned readers since 2014 of the eVisa scam identifying at least one website that was notorious for not delivering on promises.

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