Various methods for making fake labels and barcodes.

Báo Lao Động•18/01/2024

The house, without a nameplate or sign and always locked, at the end of a small alley in the Gieng hamlet, Yen Xa village (Thanh Tri district, Hanoi ), is the warehouse containing thousands of cosmetic products that the shop owner often advertises on social media. At the time of our visit, the owner was busily transferring goods from cardboard boxes into smaller cosmetic containers for delivery to customers. In this way, hundreds, even thousands, of counterfeit cosmetic products are distributed everywhere, ending up on the makeup shelves of many people who are completely unaware that they are fake products.

The secret to rapid wealth accumulation of cosmetics shop owners.

After days of persistently sourcing wholesale cosmetics to sell online on social media platforms like TikTok, Facebook, and Instagram, and using various persuasive methods, we gained access to their warehouses and learned about the secrets to the rapid wealth accumulation of online cosmetics business owners.

As regular customers, the saleswoman named Huong readily admitted that all of these "high-end" cosmetics were actually counterfeit goods of Chinese origin.

"Many people come here to buy goods to resell. There are many wholesale customers like you, from Phu Tho and Yen Bai to Ho Chi Minh City. You can mix fake and real goods with genuine ones, and no one will know," said Huong, the shop owner.

Upon observation, besides facial mists and skin whitening creams, the store sells many other cosmetic products for women's beauty care, such as whitening body wash, anti-spot cream, Lanolin sheep placenta extract, collagen supplements, and teeth whitening products.

Most of the items on display originate from Thailand, South Korea, France, Japan, etc. A common characteristic is the lack of information about the importing company, the inspection agency, the quality certification body, and the user manual, all in Vietnamese.

A cosmetics warehouse containing numerous counterfeit branded products was discovered by our investigative team after several days of investigation. (Photo: Our investigative team)

In particular, there are products labeled as imported but without information about the foreign manufacturer on the packaging. For example, an Innisfree whitening cream is labeled as originating from South Korea and priced at 90,000 VND per tube, with a thin layer of plastic wrap around the box. Although claiming it's genuine imported goods, the shop owner said, "We can supply any quantity you need."

Holding a bottle of cosmetic product for treating freckles and age spots in her hand, the shop owner, Huong, also gave us tips on how to distinguish between genuine and fake products.

These are all counterfeit cosmetics imitating famous brands. Photo: Reporters' team.

Genuine products have brown barcodes, while counterfeit products have blue ones. There are two types of counterfeit goods: one is imported directly from China, and the other is manufactured in Vietnam. However, the Vietnamese-made counterfeits are of poor quality, while the Chinese counterfeits, although more expensive, have more attractive and eye-catching designs.

The shop owner at this cosmetics warehouse was so generous that she even gave us some products to take home and "test" because "it didn't cost much."

Counterfeit labels are indispensable.

Although they sell counterfeit cosmetics, the shop owner stated that, in addition to doing business on social media, their warehouse also regularly distributes its products on e-commerce platforms. And to increase the price of these counterfeit branded cosmetics, fake labels are an indispensable "accessory".

Quickly bringing out a stack of barcodes with hundreds of products for us to see, Ms. Huong said: "The labels are all here. You can either stick them on yourself or I'll stick them on for you. Either way is fine. If you're far away, I'll ship the labels to you, don't worry."

Barcodes and labels are prepared in advance; if goods are picked up, they will be affixed to each product. Photo: Reporting Team

Thanks to a series of sophisticated disguise "accessories" along with the "authentic barcodes" that the shop owner claims when selling, wholesalers can confidently let buyers check the barcodes of their cosmetics without detecting any irregularities.

When we asked if the product had a certificate, the shop owner insisted "no"; but if we wanted one, we could go to e-commerce sites like Shopee, download the full name of a similar product, and they would send the certificate to us.

"Checking the production date is also very simple, because the barcode is pre-programmed, so when customers check it, it will show the production year as 2023. Feel free to check the barcode, you can even check it on Zalo," Ms. Huong said.

Besides counterfeit goods smuggled from China, cosmetics manufactured in warehouses in Vietnam are one of the main sources of supply for many production and business units.

* Character names have been changed

Selling counterfeit cosmetics can result in fines of up to 140 million VND.

To prevent the production and sale of counterfeit cosmetics, the Government issued Decree No. 98/2020/ND-CP stipulating administrative penalties for violations in the trade, production, and sale of counterfeit and prohibited goods, and protecting consumer rights, effective from October 15, 2020. Accordingly, the sale of counterfeit goods in terms of usability and function will be fined from 50 to 70 million VND if the value of the counterfeit goods is 30 million VND or more, or if the illegal profit is 50 million VND or more and no criminal liability has been pursued.

According to the law, if the products are cosmetics, medical equipment, detergents, chemicals, insecticides, disinfectants used in the household and medical fields, cement, construction steel, or helmets, the fine will be doubled. Therefore, those selling counterfeit cosmetics could face fines of up to 100-140 million VND.

In addition, violators will have their seized goods confiscated, their licenses or professional certificates revoked for 1-3 months, and will have to return any illegal profits obtained from the violation. This includes counterfeit cosmetics with fake labels and packaging, which are goods bearing labels or packaging that falsely represent the name and address of the organization or individual producing or importing the cosmetics; or falsely represent the origin, source, or place of production, packaging, or assembly of the goods.

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