Very popular Goa couple scam

During my recent visit to Goa, I was a victim of a popular Goa couple scam. Although as I knew about it, they were not successful to convert me into it. While visiting near the Old Goa church on March 8, 2023, my wife and I were approached by a staff member of the XXX Hotel who informed us of their grand opening. As part of the celebration, the hotel was distributing gifts and we were given two cards to choose from. After tearing the cards, my wife received a message of “better luck next time” while I was presented with five gift options to choose from. The staff member informed us that we had the chance to receive one of the gifts as part of the opening celebration.

First understand, why these opportunities are thrown to couples?

Such Goa couple scam type of activities are planned on couples due to the specific vulnerabilities or dynamics that couples may have. Here are a few reasons why couples might be targeted:

1. Emotional vulnerability: Couples often share a strong emotional bond, and they can exploit this vulnerability by appealing to their emotions. For example, they might create a fake sob story or a lucrative investment opportunity that promises financial security for the couple’s future interest.
2. Joint finances: Couples often have joint bank accounts, shared assets, or investments. They may target these shared financial resources as it can lead to a larger potential payoff.
3. Decision-making dynamics: In some couples, one person may handle most of the financial matters while the other may have limited involvement or awareness. They may take advantage of this power dynamic by targeting the less involved partner who may be more susceptible to manipulation or deception.

OK. Now coming back to the story. We were ready to accept the gifts. So what we had to do in order to claim the gifts? We just had to visit their hotel and listen to their one hour presentation. After that in front of them we had to scratch the card.

It is important to be cautious when receiving such offers. This could potentially be a scam where the presentation could be a high-pressure sales pitch to purchase a timeshare or vacation package. It’s always advisable to research the company and their offers before agreeing to anything, and to not provide any personal or financial information until you are absolutely sure of the legitimacy of the offer. It’s best to err on the side of caution and not fall for such scams.So I was quite sure that ultimately this would turn up to something else. Still I was kind of in a mood to lets enjoy the steps through this.

So, We had some plans at that moment according to our that day’s itinerary. But keeping that aside we followed that person.  He took us through some unknown roads where chances of having any 3 star or 4 star category hotels were rare. Finally we landed in front of some property (well they were not looking like any start kind of property). That guy asked us to talk to a woman who would take care of the next steps. Before leaving he requested us to review positive about him. He left away.

Now that woman took us to a common hall where there were plenty of travelers just like us. And with each group there were a coordinator who were trying to convince them to purchase their vacation rental memberships. It’s unfortunate that you were caught up in such a scam and that your time was wasted. they wasted our precious time to purchase their membership. The price was in lakhs. We refused their offer and came back.

During our visit to Aguda fort, a staff member from a nearby hotel gave us their business card and offered us the same. Now, I unfortunately did not win a prize, but my wife was lucky enough to receive one. However, the prize came with the requirement that we attend a presentation at a hotel before being granted the prize.

Yes, it seems like a common tactic used by scammers to lure couples into purchasing vacation rental memberships or timeshares. It’s important to be cautious and not fall for such traps, and do thorough research on the company and their offers before agreeing to anything. It’s always better to be safe than sorry.

We had a really awesome Goa trip out of the world. One of the main part of this trip was enjoying its awesome night life culture. You must read why Goa’s night life is the best in country.