My An, born in 1999, reported on 23/12 that the incident occurred in early December. Due to the travel ban, the female tourist and her companion had to cancel their trip, incurring a loss of 15 million VND for pre-paid flight tickets and hotel rooms.

My An stated that she regularly pays taxes through the eTax application, leading her to suspect identity theft. Upon verification at the Business Registration Office under the Department of Planning and Investment of TP HCM, My An learned that her personal information had been used to register a business in Binh An ward, District 2 (now Dong Hoa ward).

International terminal at Tan Son Nhat airport. Photo: Quynh Tran

According to the Business Registration Office under the Department of Planning and Investment of TP HCM, the business linked to My An was initially registered in 2011 and has not yet been dissolved. A document dated 14/1/2019 shows a power of attorney authorizing a person named Lam to act on My An's behalf for various procedures. However, My An asserted she "does not know this company or Mr. Lam" and added that she "was still attending university" at the time. She believes that fraudsters used her old 9-digit ID card for the registration. Consequently, when she checked eTax using her Citizen ID card number, she did not detect any tax debt.

My An paid the tax debt on 4/12 to ensure she could make her trip on 26/12. Currently, a search on the Tax Department website shows no outstanding tax information, indicating that the temporary travel ban has been lifted.

According to Lawyer Tran Hoang Linh of the Hanoi Bar Association, Decree 168/2025/ND-CP stipulates that applicants must be authorized individuals or legally empowered. Authorized signatories include the owner, Chairman of the Members' Council, Chairman of the Board of Directors, General Director, or a general partner. Any application not executed by these individuals is considered invalid, and the business cannot be established.

Lawyer Linh commented that it is unusual for an individual to become a business representative without their knowledge.

While awaiting action from authorities, the lawyer advises citizens to proactively protect their personal information and images to minimize the risk of data leakage.

Individuals planning to travel abroad should check their information on state management agency systems to determine if they are subject to a temporary travel ban.

If any abnormalities are detected, individuals must immediately send a written request to the Business Registration Office under the Department of Finance to cancel the business registration. They should also report the incident to the police to investigate the identity theft and signature forgery.

Meanwhile, representatives of travel agencies stated that they do not have the authority to check customers' travel ban status when selling tours. However, they always remind customers to verify this themselves, as companies will not issue refunds if a customer is denied boarding at the airport.

Tu Nguyen