Protecting consumers from the 'matrix' of counterfeit and fake goods

Counterfeit goods are rampant

At the end of May, a survey in Vinh City showed that there were many fake and counterfeit goods on sale, especially fashion items such as clothes, shoes, leather wallets, candy, etc. At a store in Vinh market area, most of the products were fakes of famous brands such as Adidas, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, etc. with prices ranging from only 250,000 - 300,000 VND/item, while genuine goods cost millions to tens of millions of VND.

In Tan Ky town (Tan Ky district), many fake household appliances of unknown origin such as frying pans, rice cookers, TV remote controls, etc. are sold everywhere at cheap prices. Specifically, unlabeled pans cost only 150,000 - 200,000 VND/piece; Sharp and Cuckoo branded rice cookers cost only 550,000 VND/piece (while the genuine ones cost nearly 2 million VND); fake Samsung TV remote controls cost 150,000 VND/piece, less than half the price of the genuine ones.

In Dien Thanh town (Dien Chau district), leather wallets, fashion accessories such as belts, hats, sandals... imitating brands such as Burberry, Lacoste, Gucci, Chanel, Hermes, Dior, Ferragamo... are commonly found. Sellers said that fake Chanel handbags cost only 500,000 VND/piece, mainly imported from Guangdong (China), while genuine ones cost from 10 to 15 million VND.

An electronics supermarket in Dien Chau district also sold water pumps without labels or anti-counterfeit stamps for 1.3 - 1.5 million VND/unit. When customers asked for an invoice, the staff answered bluntly: "There are no invoices for the goods here."

At Hieu market (Thai Hoa town), suitcases are sold for 250,000 - 400,000 VND/piece, but most of them are of poor quality and of unknown origin. According to consumers, these types of suitcases are easily scratched and damaged after a few uses.

In Yen Thanh town, electrical appliances such as rechargeable fans, ceiling fans, wall fans, etc. do not have warranty cards or information about their origin. Ms. Nguyen Thi Hai An said that after buying a ceiling fan here, the product only worked for a few days and then broke down, without warranty or repair.

In addition, this area also has many establishments selling cosmetics such as lipstick, powder, perfume, sunscreen, etc. in the form of "hand-carried goods" of unknown origin. The "scraped" (used) phone market is also growing strongly in Nghe An, mainly hand-carried goods from Hong Kong and Singapore with cheap prices but with many potential risks in terms of quality and warranty.

Strengthening control of counterfeit and fake goods

Over the past two months, Nghe An Market Management Department in coordination with functional forces has continuously detected and handled many violations related to counterfeit, fake and smuggled goods.

On May 23, Market Management Team No. 6 coordinated an inspection and discovered a truck with license plate UN - 3899 driven by Mr. Le Thanh Luu, residing in Trieu Ai commune, Trieu Phong district, Quang Tri province, transporting 1,240 smuggled cosmetic products in Thai Hoa town. These cosmetics originated from Thailand but did not have Vietnamese sub-labels, no production date, no expiry date, no product declaration form or Certificate of Free Circulation as prescribed. Mr. Luu was administratively fined 10 million VND and forced to destroy the entire shipment.

Previously, on May 16, Market Management Team No. 8 inspected the BVP business household in Dung town, Thanh Chuong district and discovered 32 sets of men's sportswear printed with fake "ADIDAS" trademark. All of these products were fined 10 million VND.

Then, on May 22, Market Management Team No. 9 inspected a car with license plate 37C-374.05 driven by Mr. Nguyen Thuong D. (residing in Quang Trung Ward, Vinh City). There were 40 large children's toys of unknown origin in the car. Mr. D. confessed that he had bought the above goods on the open market. Market Management Team No. 9 decided to impose a fine of 2 million VND for this act.

The market has never witnessed such diversity, sophistication and boldness of counterfeit goods as it does today, from food, cosmetics, medicines to daily consumer products. Items such as sunscreen, skin whitening cosmetics, functional foods, western medicine, medicinal herbs, fish sauce, bean sprouts soaked in chemicals, fake eggs... are all counterfeited with increasingly sophisticated methods.

More worryingly, some celebrities and "social media stars" were found to have assisted, advertised, and even directly sold counterfeit goods on platforms such as TikTok, Facebook, etc., causing public outrage.

Counterfeit goods are creeping into family meals and medicine cabinets. It is not difficult to find items such as bean sprouts soaked in chemicals, fake eggs, fish sauce made from additives of unknown origin, and even pig intestines soaked in toxic chemicals to "fake fresh", sold widely in traditional markets or on social networks.

Mr. Nguyen Hong Phong - Deputy Head of Nghe An Market Management Department said: The subjects who trade in banned and smuggled goods often transport goods in small quantities, disguise them, and hide them in sophisticated ways in the trunks and self-made car compartments to deceive the authorities. They also take advantage of e-commerce platforms and social networks, labeling them as "hand-carried goods" or "cheap sale goods" to sell fake and poor quality goods. Especially, rural, mountainous, remote and isolated areas are becoming ideal consumption destinations due to people's lack of knowledge and low income.

Faced with this situation, the Market Management Department is coordinating with functional forces to step up the implementation of the directions of the Government, the Prime Minister, the National Steering Committee 389 and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods. Identify routes, areas, subjects and key goods to develop plans for market inspection and control, assign specific tasks to officials in the team. Focus on market inspection and control and strictly handle administrative violations. In particular, control goods traded in online environments such as e-commerce platforms, websites, social networks such as Facebook, TikTok.