Building Digital Trust: A Solution to Help Businesses Expand Their Markets

With the context of e-commerce and social networks growing rapidly in the Vietnamese market, it opens up opportunities to reach a wide range of customers but at the same time also entails many challenges regarding transparency, especially problems such as brand counterfeiting and online fraud which are becoming increasingly common, seriously affecting the reputation of businesses and the trust of consumers.

Businesses are under pressure, and consumers are on alert.

According to data from the Ministry of Planning and Investment , as of December 31, 2024, there were approximately 1 million active businesses nationwide. Nearly 98% of these were small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). A survey by the Vietnam E-commerce Association showed that 58% of businesses sold goods through social media and over 24% participated in e-commerce platforms.

However, the downside of this development is the increase in sophisticated scams, posing risks to both customers and businesses, and leaving many negative consequences.

Verify builds digital trust - prevents brand counterfeiting

These scammers typically create fake websites and fan pages with names, logos, and interfaces that closely resemble those of reputable brands. They intentionally use domain names containing unusual characters, spelling errors, or post unusually attractive promotional content. Their ultimate goal is to trick users into providing personal information, accessing malicious links, or even making payments to illegitimate accounts.

A typical example is the recent case where SYBSY Fashion Company – which owns several online fashion brands such as SHE by Hoa Nguyen (SBHN), Ma Chérie, SOYOUNG, HITR, and SBHN FnG – discovered that malicious individuals had copied all the content from its SBHN brand fanpage to impersonate the company, run fraudulent advertisements, and trick customers into transferring deposit money, ultimately stealing the funds.

According to the company representative, the fake fanpage has the same name, profile picture, content, and contact information as the official SBHN fanpage. They copied everything from the hotline and store address to the introductory content, product photos, and promotional posts. They even immediately reposted new content from the real fanpage. This led some customers to place their trust in the wrong place and become victims of fraud, losing deposits of up to 20 million VND to the individuals on the fake page.

What's causing the unit a headache is the "sophisticated and professional" nature of these fake pages, which use verified fan pages – a factor that many consumers trust. Advertisements on these fake fan pages often offer "shocking" prices, sometimes only 1/10 of the original price, along with an invitation to transfer a deposit to reserve the goods. However, after customers transfer the money, these individuals immediately block all communication.

The only difference is that the real fanpage has a high number of followers (450,000), many comments and interactions from real customers, while the fake fanpage has very few or no comments.

In Khanh Hoa province, Mr. Nguyen Minh Hieu - CEO of Hoan My Co., Ltd., with the Hon Co Resort and Hoan My Resort systems - had to personally issue a correction notice on his personal page, warning customers about the appearance of a fake "Hoan My Resort Ninh Chu" fanpage that is operating with information that is 90% similar to the real fanpage, from the name to the slogan and related content, differing only in a small detail in the use of the profile picture.

Mr. Hieu stated: "The impersonation of our brand page to advertise and sell the services we provide not only affects the rights of our customers but also seriously damages the reputation and business operations of our company."

Clearly, the consequence of these incidents is that consumers are becoming increasingly cautious about information posted online, while many legitimate businesses suffer reputational damage and lose collaboration opportunities. According to several surveys, up to 30-40% of businesses face the risk of brand counterfeiting.

Transparency - a key factor in competition.

In the context of the government's push for digital transformation, transparency has become a key factor for businesses to establish credibility. Existing verification methods such as the blue checkmark on fan pages, business profiles on Google, the Ministry of Industry and Trade registration icon, and even trusted website certifications, while somewhat supporting businesses in increasing trustworthiness, also have certain limitations.

For example, Google's business profile only applies to businesses with a publicly visible location; verified fan pages are still at risk of being impersonated with similar names; while the Ministry of Industry and Trade's registration procedure is time-consuming and only suitable for complete e-commerce websites. While Network Trust certification provides protection on websites, it doesn't cover social media channels, apps, or affiliate sales networks.

Trust does not form on its own, but needs to be built through a transparent, clear authentication mechanism with the participation of independent intermediaries. When businesses, consumers and supporting organizations participate in this process, the digital market will have a solid foundation for long-term development. Clearly, the market is in dire need of an independent, objective, multi-channel verification solution with legal value and the ability to protect businesses in real time.

Verify.vn is a newcomer in the field of information verification in Vietnam.

Recently, the Vietnamese market welcomed a new "member" in the field of information verification – the Verify.vn platform. This system is introduced as a tool to support businesses and individuals in verifying information based on legal grounds, while also monitoring and protecting brands across various online channels.

According to the developer, Verify.vn aims to overcome the limitations of existing solutions by: Applying to both online and offline businesses, not relying on a single platform; providing rapid legal verification within 1-2 days, or even just a few hours; and simultaneously warning of fraud risks in real time. The platform also supports small businesses, household businesses, and individual entrepreneurs – groups that often have difficulty accessing traditional certification methods.

Verification is a multi-channel, transparent, and independent process.

More than just a business identity verification tool, Verify.vn is also a multi-channel platform for monitoring and protecting brand reputation, suitable for the modern digital business trend where models like livestreaming, social commerce, and online agencies are thriving – something that traditional verification platforms have not been able to address.

In the first week of its launch, Verify.vn signed a cooperation agreement with the Ninh Thuan - Khanh Hoa Startup Club to support hundreds of local businesses in verifying information, thereby expanding market access. The unit also joined the Ninh Thuan Tourism Association to sign a cooperation agreement on the online business verification project - Verify.vn within the framework of the press conference launching the contest "Beautiful photos, impressive videos about southern Khanh Hoa in 2025" organized by the Ninh Thuan Tourism Association in early August.

Mr. Nguyen Anh Vu, Chairman of the Ninh Thuan Tourism Association, said: "This signing ceremony is an opportunity for us to enhance transparency and improve the reputation of tourism and services in the southern Khanh Hoa region. At the same time, it will help prevent tourists from being scammed by fraudulent websites when they plan to travel to this area in the future."

The future of the digital market in Vietnam not only depends on the speed of technological development, but also depends on building a sustainable business ecosystem where trust is the foundation and becomes a core value. In the context of increasingly sophisticated forms of fraud, the emergence of independent verification solutions such as Verify.vn is a positive signal, contributing to strengthening trust between businesses and consumers. When trust becomes a core asset, the Vietnamese digital market can truly develop strongly and sustainably.

Source: https://baokhanhhoa.vn/kinh-te/thong-tin-doanh-nghiep/202509/xay-dung-niem-tin-so-giai-phap-giup-doanh-nghiep-mo-rong-thi-truong-6be6292/