Steep fines fail to deter Vietnamese scam websites

Even though a new law effective at the beginning of this year has proposed heavy cash penalties on violators of the e-commerce business, many online shopping websites are still stealing money from consumers by delivering products that differ from what they claim to sell.

According to government decree No.185, unregistered online shopping websites are subject to a fine of VND10 million to VND20 million, Tran Huu Linh, head of the e-commerce department under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, told Tuoi Tre in a recent interview. (VND10 million = US$476)

Meanwhile, those who set up new websites to offer e-commerce services without obtaining a registration certificate will also be fined VND20 million to VND30 million.

Violators may also be suspended from operation for six months to a year, and have their “dot vn” domain name revoked, Linh said.

Shopping websites that cheat customers will have to pay VND40 million to VND50 million in cash and be subject to a six to 12-month suspension.

The decree took effect on January 1, and some 2,500 e-commerce websites have since registered with the industry department for operation.

However, customers across the country are still falling victims to such websites, which offer to sell hi-tech devices at reasonable prices but deliver cheap and fake products, mostly from China.

In a recent case, a Tuoi Tre reader reported that she ordered a Samsung Galaxy SIII smartphone via a website, and ended up receiving a Chinese-made copy.

Earlier many other victims complained that they paid millions to the scam websites only to receive Chinese products instead of the Apple iPad they ordered. Contacting the website owners for a refund is impossible as most of the addresses displayed on the sites are fake.

To deal with the problem, Linh advised, customers are recommended to report these scam websites to the portal of the e-commerce department at www.online.gov.vn.

“From the tip-offs, officers will investigate and crack down on the violators,” Linh said.

Customers are also advised to carefully check information regarding the shopping websites before ordering a product or settling payment, he added.

“It is difficult to protect the buyers’ rights because these websites are unlicensed,” he warned.