Online scams: Old tricks, new victims.

Online shopping has become a trend in the digital age. While convenient, this form of shopping also carries many risks, as numerous scammers have engaged in fraudulent practices such as deceptive advertising or misappropriating buyers' deposits. In Thai Nguyen, many people have found themselves in unfortunate situations after buying fashion items online, unsure of who to turn to for help.

Nắng STORE livestreamed new, beautiful products but sent customers the wrong, low-quality products, and displayed a defiant attitude when confronted with complaints and requests to resolve the order.

Stealing customer information to commit fraud.

Sharing her experience with online scams, Ms. Tiet Thi Khanh, from Group 90, Phan Dinh Phung Ward, expressed her frustration: "I was surprised to receive a call from the delivery person asking me to pay over 500,000 VND for a fashion clothing order. For over two months, I haven't watched any livestreams or ordered anything online. Since we're acquaintances, the delivery person warned me that the scammer might have stolen my information from previous livestreams to send low-quality items at high prices, and advised me to refuse the delivery. However, out of curiosity, I decided to accept the order, but when I opened it, it was a defective product, unusable."

Cases of customer information theft on livestreaming platforms are also rampant on luxury goods websites. Even without placing an order, many people still receive messages via Messenger requesting a deposit.

Ms. Thanh Tam, who directly manages the livestream sessions of Lalalux - authentic luxury fashion shop, located in Ho Chi Minh City, warns: Only those whose names are announced by the shop and who have confirmed their purchase will receive transaction confirmation messages. Everyone needs to be highly vigilant and not transfer money to individuals using the shop's name but whose account numbers do not match the account numbers we have posted on the livestream's "wall".

Despite the warnings, many people still take things for granted. Ms. Do Thanh Thuy, from Phan Dinh Phung ward, shared: "Once, I was watching a livestream while doing other things, so when I finalized my order, I hadn't even figured out if I was the one the shop called out to before I received a message via Messenger with my bank transfer details. While I was completing the transfer, my daughter stopped me and checked the information from the livestreamer, only to realize that I hadn't actually confirmed that order…"

"Selling dog meat under the guise of selling goat meat."

The reality is that many shops brazenly engage in deceptive practices, promising exchanges or refunds to customers but then disappearing without a trace, leaving buyers to lose everything.

Recently, acting as a customer, I ordered a fashionable shirt from a shop called Nắng STORE (which later changed to Nắng Tây Store after being exposed for its fraudulent practices) for 59,000 VND per shirt. The shop also informed me that shipping would be free if I paid in full via bank transfer. However, upon receiving the product, I still had to pay 30,000 VND for shipping and received an old, defective, and dirty shirt. I sent feedback via Messenger to the shop, explaining that the shirt I ordered was a beautiful blue one, not the old, wrinkled purple one, but after a week, I still haven't received a reply from the shop.

Later, I "investigated" and was surprised to find many people "exposing" the shop on social media. Ms. Dang Bich Lien, from Dong Nai , who was scammed by the shop selling low-quality goods, said: The scamming tactic of the NANG shop is to exploit the psychology of people wanting cheap, beautiful goods, and after confirming an order, they are sent a message requesting a bank transfer. The shop repeatedly requests deposit transfers and informs via Messenger that shipping is free after the full payment is received. However, upon receiving the goods, buyers still have to pay the shipping fee. Some people who didn't pay the shipping fee had their deposit stolen by the shop, and the shop even challenged them when the customer or delivery person called to complain.

Currently, a group of victims has joined a "exposing" group for Nắng Tây Store, Nắng STORE, with over 300 members on social media. According to the victims' feedback, the shop, located in Gia Lai province, has been constantly changing its name since learning it was being exposed online.

Online sales scams are not new, but they are still very much around. Many victims, including a significant number of people in Thai Nguyen, have likely suffered silently rather than speaking up after receiving goods from shops like Nắng STORE that specialize in defrauding buyers.

Because of busy lives and the belief that the amount of money scammed was not large, only a few hundred thousand dong, they chose to remain silent. This, in turn, created opportunities for scammers to operate freely online. Therefore, in addition to being vigilant and buying from reputable shops, it is time for victims to speak out to the authorities so that these online scams can be dealt with.

Through this article, we earnestly hope that the authorities will investigate, verify, and prosecute the fraudsters, ensuring cybersecurity, peace of mind for online businesses, and protecting the rights of buyers. We hope this will prevent a few bad apples from tarnishing the reputation of reputable online retailers in Thai Nguyen in particular and across the country in general.

Source: https://baothainguyen.vn/phap-luat/an-ninh-trat-tu/202605/lua-dao-qua-mang-chieu-tro-cu-nan-nhan-moi-91c428e/