Losing customers and trust due to leaked information.

A delivery driver delivers goods to a customer in Dong Thai commune. Photo: AN LAM

Despite not having placed an order, Ms. Huynh Thi Lan, residing in Rach Gia ward, was surprised to receive a package clearly labeled with her name and address. The package stated "skirt," but upon opening it contained a cheap T-shirt. Seeing that the amount was not large, her relatives paid 100,000 VND to the delivery company. "Clearly, this is a scam exploiting customers' carelessness for profit," Ms. Lan said.

Not only buyers, but sellers are also affected. Ms. Tran Ngoc Hoa, who specializes in selling dried specialties from Ca Mau on Mac Thien Tich Street, Kien Luong Commune, said: “In just the last two days, dozens of regular customers called me because they received a notification about a 0-dong order from Tran Ngoc Hoa, requiring only a 30,000 dong fee to receive it. They didn't place any orders, yet the delivery was still made to the correct name and address. One regular customer called to ask, 'Why did you send the goods like that?', and that's when I realized it was a scam. As for the strangers, they thought I was a fraud, and my reputation was severely damaged; they got angry and stopped buying from me.”

After being harassed numerous times, Ms. Hoa came up with a solution: instead of entering the customer's real phone number on the app, she used a string of ten zeros. "I write the customer's real number by hand on the package. It's a bit more work, but it prevents fraudulent calls," Ms. Hoa said.

It's not just Ms. Hoa; Ms. Nguyen Thi Thu Trang, an online seller in Rach Gia ward, is also facing a similar situation. "These past few days, customers have been messaging me asking why I'm delivering orders for 'zero cost,' even though I haven't created any orders. Sometimes they call, message, or even deliver fake goods," Ms. Trang said. The anomaly lies in the fact that shipping data is being leaked from the delivery service system, with the addresses and phone numbers of both sellers and buyers clearly displayed. "Small-scale sellers like us have no way to protect ourselves other than hiding our numbers and constantly changing accounts," Ms. Trang explained.

From the perspective of a delivery driver, Le Quoc Duy, an employee of a delivery service in Rach Gia ward, admitted: "We suffer because of these scams. Many customers receive fraudulent calls beforehand, so when we deliver the real goods, they become suspicious and refuse to accept them. Each time this happens, the seller loses the order, and the delivery company also gets their order returned, affecting the reputation of both parties." Duy said that many scammers exploit the "zero-cost order" or "trial order" scheme to steal information. "They might call customers, ask them to pay a 10,000 VND fee, but it's actually to trick them into providing OTP codes or card information. We advise customers to be careful and not provide information until they have verified ownership."

Based on the experience of identity theft, many online sellers suggest the need for stricter data protection mechanisms from shipping companies and e-commerce platforms. They argue that personal data is often leaked through intermediaries or by the shipping company's own employees, so businesses need to review and coordinate with authorities when incidents occur. Sellers also hope that delivery apps will add features to hide sender and recipient information and encrypt shipping labels to prevent copying.

"I think delivery companies should step up their publicity efforts to help customers recognize the official phone numbers of each company, and encourage payment via the company's QR code instead of the delivery person's personal account," suggested Ms. Do Ngoc My Xuyen, an online seller in Rach Gia ward.

AN LAM

Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/mat-khach-mat-niem-tin-vi-lo-thong-tin-a465929.html