Sagada council asks NBI to go after people behind fake resort

BAGUIO CITY—A nonexistent resort in Sagada town in Mt. Province that has lured its share of clients online is now the subject of a probe by the National Bureau of Investigation and the police, a town official said.

Sagada Councilor Dave Gulian on Sunday said the town council had informed the Cordillera police about the website that processes online booking transactions for a fictitious resort called Costa Luz in Barangay (village) Suyo.

Gulian said the council also asked the NBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center to act on the complaints, through an Aug. 20 resolution.

An Australian visitor, Paul Anthony Kazla of Adelaide City, was the latest tourist to complain to the police about being duped by the website.

Sagada resident Gina Dizon said Kazla, 30, told the police that a travel agency had booked him a three-day stay at the fake resort for Aus$111.36  (P4,514.78).

Many tourists had gone online complaining about the fake resort, but Kazla was the first to file a formal complaint, reports from the Sagada police showed.

Reports about the fake resort started being discussed online in August. The website featuring Costa Luz Resort Club Hotel had links to major travel websites but it was recently taken down.  Vincent Cabreza, Inquirer Northern Luzon