Compared to the whole country, Thanh Hoa is not a "hot spot" for gathering or trading counterfeit goods. However, the large area, complex terrain, and diverse transit forms make violations in the production and trading of counterfeit goods in Thanh Hoa still unpredictable, with many cases on a very large scale. In particular, the development of e-commerce and cross-border social networks is making the "problem" of counterfeit goods even more painful.
Penetrate every corner
In just a short time of starting the peak of the fight against smuggling, trade fraud and counterfeit goods before, during and after the Lunar New Year, the provincial authorities have discovered many quite serious cases.
That was the case of 66 tons of fake fertilizers under the brands of My Dragon and Viet Xo discovered distributed at the business household Nguyen Dinh Nam, located in Phu Xuan commune (Tho Xuan) on January 6, 2025. Mr. Nguyen Huy Binh, Captain of Market Management Team No. 14, said: “The verification results show that these goods belong to Sao Do Technology Company, located in Van Thang commune (Nong Cong); but have counterfeited the registered trademark of Nam Thao Joint Stock Company, located in Kim Son district (Ninh Binh). This case is continuing to be investigated.”
On January 7, 2025, Thuong Xuan District Police discovered and seized nearly 1 ton of goods suspected of being counterfeit detergent powder and seasoning powder of famous brands such as: Omo, Aba, Knorr, Vi Dan... Previously, the police force discovered a number of strangers who regularly used trucks to transport goods of these brands to import to stores in the districts: Thuong Xuan, Lang Chanh, Nhu Xuan... Organizing investigation and reconnaissance, the police force caught red-handed 2 subjects Nguyen Van Son, born in 1993, residing in Te Nong commune (Nong Cong) and Vi Van Sang, born in 2000, residing in Xuan Cao commune (Thuong Xuan) when the subjects were transporting nearly 100 kg of counterfeit goods for sale. Conducting an urgent search of the residence of the above 2 subjects, the police force seized nearly 80 kg of raw materials to produce counterfeit detergent powder and seasoning powder along with many tools, packaging, and labels.
From 2022 to present, the Market Management force has only handled 16 cases of violations of counterfeit goods on e-commerce, with a fine of VND 97,500,000 and the value of infringing goods of VND 35,651,000. |
According to the review of the Provincial Steering Committee 389, there were 179 cases of violations of counterfeit goods and intellectual property in 2024, with a variety of goods. From goods closely related to people's lives, such as clothes and shoes, to goods that affect health such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, medicines, and functional foods. Even construction goods such as bricks, tiles, etc. or high-value goods such as jewelry are being counterfeited.
In fact, surveying shops on the streets and traditional markets in cities, districts and towns in the province, it is easy to see the scene of openly selling goods such as clothes, shoes, hats, fashion accessories... counterfeiting major brands such as: Dior, Chanel, Gucci, Nike, Adidas, Louis Vuitton... for only a few hundred thousand Dong.
Every year, the functional forces in the province have continuously detected, handled administratively, with high fines and destroyed thousands of counterfeit products of major brands, typically: On January 29, 2024, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee issued a Decision to administratively sanction the business household Lan Bang store in Lam Son ward, Thanh Hoa city for displaying and selling counterfeit goods with a fine of VND 102,500,000; forced the destruction of infringing goods including counterfeit shoes of Adidas, Nike, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Valentino brands with a value of VND 105,110,000.
On August 13, 2024, the Chairman of the Provincial People's Committee also issued a Decision to administratively sanction the Tung MOSCOW business household in Lam Son ward, Thanh Hoa city for trading 197 pairs of shoes and sandals bearing the brands Nike, Adidas, Hermes, Louis Vuitton, with a value of 162,030,000 VND. This business household was also administratively fined 102,500,000 VND and forced to destroy all violating goods. However, the activities of the authorities seem to be just "a drop in the ocean". After the fines and destruction, counterfeit goods continue to appear and every year, many new cases are discovered, even more serious.
In recent years, Thanh Hoa has also discovered warehouses of counterfeit goods and goods violating intellectual property rights on a very large scale, at a level that "shocked" the national market. Typically, in April 2022, Thanh Hoa Market Management Force coordinated with Department 1, Department of Professional Affairs under the General Department of Market Management and Department PC03, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police to discover 3 warehouses of goods with signs of counterfeit goods and goods with signs of smuggling owned by Ngoc Thao Shop in Ngoc Trao Ward (Bim Son Town). 27,825 infringing goods are watches, cosmetics, food, shoes, sandals, blankets, clothes, household appliances, with a total value of infringing goods of 1,166,680,000 VND. The Investigation Police Agency, Thanh Hoa Provincial Police has decided to prosecute Ms. Truong Thi Lien - owner of Ngoc Thao Shop for trading in goods that infringe intellectual property rights. Or the case of discovering a "huge" warehouse with 12,000 counterfeit products of many famous fashion brands such as Channel, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, Kenzo... in Sam Son City.
It is worth mentioning that in 2024, counterfeit goods appeared on many valuable items. That was the case of Kim Chung Gold and Silver Trading Company Limited (Thanh Hoa City) trading in jewelry under the brands Chanel, Versace, DIOR, Hermes, Louis Vuitton. Tuan Huong Gold and Silver Company Limited in Quan Lao town (Yen Dinh) trading in jewelry including necklaces and bracelets counterfeiting the brands DIOR, Chanel, Hermes. The owners of these businesses were fined hundreds of millions of VND.
According to the Thanh Hoa Market Management Department, counterfeit goods and goods infringing intellectual property rights are becoming increasingly complex, with many extremely sophisticated tricks, almost impossible to distinguish from genuine goods. "Fraudulent traders" are increasingly "defensive", carefully studying legal regulations and professional measures of functional forces and enterprises to find ways to "dodge", making it difficult to collect and verify information for penalties. As the standing agency of the Provincial Steering Committee 389, the Thanh Hoa Market Management Department has also deployed many professional measures, developed many inspection and control plans to combat acts of infringing intellectual property rights and counterfeit goods. However, the results achieved are still not as expected.
Rampant on the "online market"
Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital goods transactions have developed at a "dizzying" speed. The announcement of the Vietnam E-commerce Association shows that the growth rate of the Vietnam E-commerce Index has reached an average of 25% per year, reaching the sales milestone of 25 billion USD; of which, the scale of online retail goods reached 17.3 billion USD. However, this is also a fertile "playground" for counterfeit goods, from high-end to popular items.
As a "fan" of branded goods, Mr. Le Khac C. (Thanh Hoa City) often "hunts" for many items such as clothes, watches, wallets, and belts on e-commerce channels. Although he is quite "savvy" in distinguishing, however, every time he transacts with a "strange shop" and does not carefully check, Mr. C. still buys "fake goods". Typically, near Tet, Mr. C. ordered a Lacoste sweater for nearly 3 million VND from a seller who had never transacted on TikTok. When the shipper delivered the goods, he was busy with work, so Mr. C. quickly accepted the goods without checking them carefully. When he had time to review them, he discovered that they were fake goods. "The probability of buying goods from an unreliable seller on online channels and encountering fake goods is about 50%, if I do not bring the real goods out to check and compare carefully when receiving them", Mr. C. shared.
Fond of Shiseido cosmetics, Ms. Le Thi L. in Hau Loc town, Hau Loc district often asks relatives to send domestic goods back home or goes to Thanh Hoa city to buy genuine products at the distribution system. Recently, while surfing Facebook, she saw a cosmetics shop advertising that it had just "embraced" a batch of domestic Anessa sunscreen, from Shiseido, during a big year-end sale to thank customers at a price only half of the genuine distribution price. Reading the comments, Ms. L. saw that many people "praised" the product in a very "genuine" way, so she "trusted" and bought 2 boxes. When the shipper delivered the goods, observing the outside, Ms. L. saw that it was quite similar to the product she was using, and it also had full labels, so she accepted the goods. However, when she got home and took a sample of the product she was using to compare every detail on the packaging, Ms. L. suspected that this was a fake product. “When I opened the box to try it, I saw that the cream was thick. When I applied it to my skin, it didn't absorb but clumped, so I was sure it was fake and didn't dare use it.”
Having bought many types of goods, from work supplies, cosmetics, clothes... online, Ms. Tran Thu P. (Thanh Hoa City) has also had to "regret" many times because she bought fake goods. Most recently, when she saw a famous MC livestreaming on his personal Facebook sharing the "opportunity" that a large cosmetics shop in Hanoi had just "embraced" a batch of skin care serum at a preferential price at a Japanese supermarket. Having a need for this product and also having relatives share about the "floor-floor" sale programs at Japanese supermarkets at the end of the year, Ms. P. trusted and ordered it. The goods were delivered when she was on a business trip, so Ms. P. did not directly check but asked a family member to receive it for her. “When I checked the product, I suspected that the product was fake because the box and information were unclear, and the packaging was not sharp. The product had a strange smell so I didn’t dare to use it. After this time, I almost lost confidence in buying cosmetics online, even when acquaintances or celebrities promoted and introduced it,” said Ms. P.
From 2022 to present, although the number of counterfeit goods violations in the province has decreased, the scale of the cases has increased. Typically, in 2022, the authorities sanctioned 203 cases, with the violation amount of nearly 1.4 billion VND, the violated goods worth more than 889 million VND; in 2023, 216 cases were sanctioned with the amount of 1.88 billion VND, the violated goods worth 1.19 billion VND. In 2024, 179 cases were sanctioned with the amount of more than 2.64 billion VND, the violated goods worth more than 1.5 billion VND. |
Commenting on the level of counterfeit goods in the e-commerce environment, according to the leader of the provincial Market Management Department, it is undeniable that e-commerce brings advantages, but the development of this type of business has created more opportunities for counterfeit goods and goods that infringe intellectual property rights to infiltrate the market. In cyberspace, sellers and buyers do not have direct contact when exchanging goods; therefore, there is a situation where the advertised image is genuine but the goods delivered to customers are counterfeit. Without real products on the spot or experience to verify and compare, buyers will find it difficult to detect quickly.
E-commerce continues to grow strongly. In 2024, the 5 e-commerce platforms in Vietnam alone grew by nearly 79%. Social networking platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, Zalo, and TikTok have grown strongly in recent times due to their many advantages and conveniences for businesses and consumers. However, it is necessary to strengthen inspection and examination of cases with signs of violations on e-commerce to ensure market transparency, especially to control, strictly and promptly handle violations of counterfeit goods and goods that infringe intellectual property rights to protect the rights of consumers and legitimate businesses.
Article and photos: PV Group
Lesson 2: Many tricks to deceive consumers
Source: https://baothanhhoa.vn/chong-hang-gia-cuoc-chien-khong-cua-rieng-ai-bai-1-nhuc-nhoi-van-nan-hang-gia-239874.htm
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