Nurul Aini Apologises To Followers After Hotel Booking Agent She Gave Shout-Out To Goes MIA Upon Receiving Payments

Online scams are a dime a dozen these days, and Nurul Aini, 39, recently found herself implicated in one such scam. Or well, alleged scam.

In an Instagram post on Dec 16, Nurul laid the facts bare, revealing that an individual, who goes by @farahdiyanah on Instagram, is now missing-in-action.

The IG account, which has 13,200 followers, is now set to private, with 0 posts.

Said individual was apparently able to book stays at local hotels at a discounted rate, and had a lucrative business as a third-party agent for hotel bookings.

"Like most of you, I too went to this person after reading recommendations from others. I only booked through her once and my hotel stay was okay. She delivered and everything went well,” Nurul wrote, attaching screenshots confirming that she’d dealt with the individual in late-June this year.

According to the screenshots provided, Nurul booked a three-day, two-night stay at Capella Hotel Singapore's one bedroom villa at S$1,580 for Jul 23 to Jul 25 through the agent.

Nurul and her family during their staycation in July this year

However, a few months on, it appears that the agent has since gone missing after receiving payment for other similar hotel bookings.

Nurul went on to share that she is not in contact with the agent anymore, and that her attempts to contact the agent have gone unanswered. She also clarified that she only gave the agent a shout-out on her IG Story after the agent requested for one, and that she paid in full for her hotel stay.

"A product is advertised at a lower price, or advertised to have amazing benefits or features that sound good. Pretty sure everyone will be tempted. After all, who doesn't want to save some right?” Nurul wrote, adding: "The deal was real when I booked. I’m not sure what happened from there, but what she’s doing now is definitely not okay.”

"I need to better educate myself and my followers about online scams from today onwards. One thing for sure, please avoid any arrangement with a stranger that asks for up-front payment via money order, wire transfer, international funds transfer or pre-loaded card. Never EVER send money or give credit card or online account details to anyone you don’t know or trust (sic),” she wrote.

"I apologise if you booked the hotel stays because of my recommendation. It was not my intention at all to recommend an alleged online scammer,” she wrote, adding that those affected should file a police report.

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  Nurul shared a screenshot revealing that the agent had asked for a shoutout from the actress

  Netizens were generally supportive of Nurul in the comments.
  
  "You did the right thing! I don't get why people are hounding you. You promoted as a customer yourself anyway. Everyone should be responsible and make an informed decision for what they choose to spend on,” one netizen wrote.

  Another netizen, who had successfully booked a hotel stay with the same agent previously commented: "It’s not even your fault! My mom too had a successful stay with her. So when all these started coming up, we were kinda surprised!”

  Finally, one netizen, who managed to get a refund from the agent after being misled, wrote: "Indeed, you were not part of the scam but you do have influence on people who may have been on the fence to get the deals from her. For me, all I wanted was for some transparency from the influencers who engaged her services and thank you for sharing your side. I also appreciate the empathy you are showing to the victims.”

  Photos: Nurul Aini/Instagram