Man duped into paying $1,200 for fake 4G Vertu phone, actually a 2G model

The 60-year-old man in the coastal province of Vung Tau recently brought his phone to a Vertu store to have its cover redesigned.

During the inspection, Vertu technicians revealed that the device was a Signature S model, despite the man believing it to be a Signature V. The latter can connect to 4G network while the former cannot.

The owner is now seeking to contact the seller, who misrepresented the product's capabilities, since commercial 2G network is set to be discontinued in Vietnam next month.

"Many Vertu Signature S owners have reported connection issues lately. The model, which does not support 4G, is not sold officially in Vietnam. Owners often bought it from other countries," a representative of Vertu Vietnam said.

Luxury phone collector Quoc Bao in Ho Chi Minh City said that the Signature S and Signature V models look identical on the outside, and regular users cannot tell the difference unless they open the phones and look inside.

With the impending shutdown of 2G services in Vietnam, some sellers are fraudulently advertising the Signature S as the more expensive V model to deceive unsuspecting buyers.

Without 2G connectivity, many Signature S smartphones will soon be unable to make phone calls.

The Ministry of Information and Communications last week warned users of an increase in 4G phone scams on social media.

It said that there was an increase in 4G phone scams on social media, noting that some sellers were falsely advertising 2G phones as 4G-capable.

Despite sellers' claims, these phones would cease to function once 2G is shut down, the ministry added.

Vietnam has over 120 million phone subscriptions, nearly 10 million of them are connected to 2G network only.

Commercial 2G services will be shut down on Sep. 16.