Counterfeit and banned goods flood Facebook 'market'

Counterfeit branded goods, drugs of unknown origin, wildlife products, and counterfeit money are all openly sold on the "Facebook market".

"Specializing in Louis Vuitton, Hermes, Chanel, Prada, Dior, D&G, Salvato, Celine branded bags. Super fake goods, diverse designs, quality and competitive prices..." That is the information introduced on a Fanpage specializing in selling handbags in Hanoi. Ms. Xuan, the shop owner, said that these items are "first-class fakes" so the materials and seams are very high quality.

With 6 years of business experience, Ms. Xuan is currently the main supplier for many wholesalers and retailers in many provinces and cities across the country.The shop owner said that Facebook has become a very important tool to help her increase revenue and reach out more easily to wholesale buyers as well as retail customers.

Many counterfeit items are being sold on Facebook. Screenshot

A recent survey by the E-Commerce Association shows that social networks are not only the most used but also considered an effective advertising channel equivalent to search engines.Although the survey only stopped at the scale of enterprises, it showed thatUp to 46% of units confirm that social media advertising is highly effective.

For small businesses and retail stores, this is also one of the preferred sales channels. However, besides products with clear origin and quality, many fake fashion items of major world brands such as Gucci, Louis Vutton, Calvin Klein, HM... are openly sold on Facebook.The “Facebook Marketplace” has also become a place to sell fake technology products of major brands and unlabeled functional foods. For example, a Vertu phone is being sold for several million VND, only one-tenth of the price of the real phone being distributed by this company on the market.

The Competition Management Department, Ministry of Industry and Trade, stated that current regulations prohibit the collection of advertising fees for counterfeit and fake goods. Meanwhile,To attract buyers, many sales fanpages also run ads to increase interaction.A recently published survey based on 700,000 random discussion samples related to brands on social networks from January 1 to September 7 showed that there were more than 347,800 interactions about advertising products and services on Facebook. Among them, there were many pages that showed signs of running ads, spreading inaccurate news to attract visitors to the sales page link or using tricks to increase likes, shares and comments. However, this research unit said that some posts on many fanpages received a lot of likes but did not appear many real interactions.

Specifically, regular posts on this page only have about 50 likes, one share, and four comments. Meanwhile, a pinned post on the page advertising Louis Vutton's latest super-high-end shoe model with copper buckles shows that it has more than 24,000 likes, more than 2,000 comments, and 246,000 views of the promotional video, hundreds of times more than regular posts. However, this is just one of thousands of Fanpages and personal pages selling fake and counterfeit goods of major brands on Facebook that spend money on advertising to increase interactions.

Some banned items are also openly sold on Facebook marketplace. Screenshot

Not stopping there, some prohibited items related to wildlife such as elephant tusks, tiger claws, bear claws, pangolin scales, tiger skin, leopard skin, tiger fangs, bear fangs, bear glue and even counterfeit money are also sold through this channel.

On the Fanpage of an individual named Tuan, who is introduced as living in Gia Lai, he regularly posts advertisements for bear claws and tiger claws. Not only posting on his personal page, he also regularly sells these items on several groups and said that customers in need will provide their address for delivery and payment at their doorstep.

"I only sell unique and authentic products. Not only retail, I can also meet the needs of those who want to buy in large quantities," Mr. Tuan advertised.

Recently, many account holders have also advertised counterfeit money for sale. Contacting an individual who is publicly advertising counterfeit money on Facebook with attractive offers, the seller said that for every 3 million VND of real money, he can buy 10 million VND of counterfeit money. The seller did not agree to meet but instead set a condition that 30% must be transferred in advance by scratch cards as a deposit. Many readers have reported to VnExpress about having transferred money to these people but only realized they had been scammed when they did not receive the goods.

Lawyer Phung Viet Vinh, Vinawin Law Firm, Hanoi, said that the act of advertising and selling counterfeit, fake and banned goods is a violation of the law and can lead to criminal prosecution. In addition, any entity that collects advertising fees from individuals and organizations selling these items is also considered a violation of the law.

According to VNE