On March 15, a Facebook page named Batumi Card shared information regarding public transport fares in Batumi (1,2). Two identical posts, published almost simultaneously, claimed that the Batumi administration had introduced an annual transport pass, allowing passengers to use public transport for just GEL 7.09 per year with a special card. The posts also said that interested individuals needed to click on a provided link to place an order.
Information about the use of public transport in Batumi for GEL 7 per year is spread by a Facebook page created for the purpose of a financial scam. In reality, Batumi’s municipal transport company does not offer such a service to customers. The scam page aims to steal users’ personal information, including bank card details.
The newly created Batumi Card Facebook page falsely promises travel for a special price and tries to gain credibility through fake accounts. A similar fraudulent scheme was run by a Facebook page called Metromoney, which targeted Tbilisi residents with an identical GEL 7.09 per year public transport offer in the capital city. After fraudulently obtaining users’ bank details, Metromoney first withdrew GEL 7.09 and then attempted to make larger withdrawals from users’ accounts.
Read more in the Myth Detector’s article “Fraudulent Page Spreads False Information About Traveling for GEL 7 Per Year with a Metromoney Card.”
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What Does Batumi’s Transport Company Say?
On March 19, Batumi’s municipal transport company responded to the information circulating on social media claiming that Batumi residents could use public transport for GEL 7.09 per year. In a post published by the company, it was stated that the information about free public transport is false. “Batumi Autotransport” also urged citizens to be cautious and verify any information through official pages or the hotline.
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What Do We Know About the Batumi Card Facebook Page and the Website Mentioned in the Post?
The Facebook page Batumi Card was created on March 15, 2025, similar to the Metromoney page, which offered customers travel for a special price in Tbilisi. As of March 21, the page has only 165 followers. In its category section, it is labeled as “Travel and transport,” and the same description appears in the Intro section of the page.
To appear credible, fake accounts (Claire Morel, Luisa Federico, Amélie Dupont, Carolina Bergamo) leave their comments on the post published by the page. These comments give the impression that these individuals have already benefited from the offer or are interested in using it. In reality, these accounts, which have non-Georgian names, steal profile pictures from users registered on various social networks. Notably, some of these fake accounts also posted identical comments on the Metromoney page.
As of March 21, the link provided in the post is inactive. However, the IP address of the website is located in California, USA, similar to a previous fraudulent website, and was created in November 2024.
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