Fake goods rampant on e-commerce platforms

The fake products only used to be sold at traditional shops, Pham Thi Viet Thu, chairwoman of the HCMC Consumer Protection Association, said at a meeting on fighting smuggling and fake goods held Friday by the customs department.

"I ordered bird’s nest on Shopee. It was touted as a genuine product, but when I received it, I found it was not real bird’s nest but was made from other materials. Its origin was not as indicated."

Many people have complained about similar fraud to her association, she said.

Fake goods on offer on an e-commerce platform. Photo by VnExpress/Thi Ha

Dai Khai Quynh, head of the Vietnam Association of Motorcycle Manufacturers’ intellectual property department, said his office and government agencies discovered 292 cases of fake motorbike parts such as brake pads and air filters being sold online in the first 10 months of this year.

But according to businesses, only the tip of the iceberg has been found since fake goods are sold in enormous quantities on e-commerce platforms.

A quick search on Facebook’s Marketplace turned up many fake products branded Honda and Yamaha at a range of prices, Quynh said.

Electric motorbikes are widely sold though members of the association do not manufacture or import them, he said.

"It is difficult to prevent fakes because vendors can shut down one online store and open a new one within a day to continue their illegal business."

Nguyen Van On, deputy head of customs’ anti-smuggling department, said many online vendors do not list the address of physical stores or warehouses.

On and Quynh said both e-commerce platforms and the government should severely penalize sales of fake and smuggled goods.