Hanoi strictly handles e-commerce fraud in H1

THE HANOI TIMES — Hanoi's market management force addressed nearly 80 cases of e-commerce fraud in the first half of 2025, according to Duong Manh Hung, Deputy Director of the Hanoi Market Surveillance Agency.

Hanoimoi newspaper quoted Hung as saying that the offenses primarily involved producing and selling counterfeit, smuggled, and untraceable goods, as well as infringing on intellectual property and selling substandard products.

Authorities have intensified inspections of e-commerce platforms and social media, recognizing them as fertile grounds for counterfeit goods.

"The crackdown on e-commerce fraud is part of a broader effort to combat smuggling and counterfeit goods in Hanoi in a more proactive strategy that includes traceability technology and encoded labeling systems to detect fraudulent activity on e-commerce platforms," said Hung.

He affirmed that, in the future, the Hanoi Market Surveillance Agency will strengthen market inspection and supervision, focusing on food-related goods, while preventing smuggling, trade fraud, and intellectual property rights violations on online platforms such as e-commerce sites and social media.

The agency has urged e-commerce platforms to implement measures that prevent the listing and sale of counterfeit and prohibited goods as well as emphasize the need for stronger compliance measures.

Inspections of e-commerce platforms and social media have been intensified. Many online shops and live stream sellers promoting fake luxury items have been penalized.

According to Hoang Ninh, Deputy Director of the Vietnam E-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency under the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT), more than 11,000 e-commerce storefronts were flagged for fraudulent trade nationwide in the first half of 2025.

"This is a significant number, highlighting the increasingly complex nature of violations in the e-commerce sector while demonstrating the authorities' growing efforts to tighten oversight," said Ninh.

In addition to institutional reform, the agency is also rolling out key solution groups to combat counterfeit goods, imitations, and intellectual property infringements in the digital environment.

"The MoIT is continuing to improve the legal framework, enhance technological solutions, and strengthen inter-agency coordination to build a transparent and secure digital environment centered on consumer protection," stressed the deputy director.

Anti-counterfeiting in e-commerce prioritized

According to Tran Huu Linh, Head of the Vietnam Directorate of Market Surveillance, the market surveillance force will prioritize anti-counterfeiting tasks in e-commerce.

"We will also promote digitalization in management and operations, focusing on inspecting and handling violations on e-commerce platforms," Linh announced at a conference on market surveillance tasks held in Hanoi at the end of June.

Additionally, the market surveillance force will collaborate with the media to promptly report on  inspections and the handling of smuggling, and the sale of counterfeit and substandard goods in the domestic market. This will serve as a warning to consumers about these illegal goods.

"The open economy, coupled with the rapid growth of e-commerce, will create many difficult and complex problems for market management. Smuggling and trading in counterfeit and poor-quality goods are becoming increasingly prevalent and sophisticated," Linh said.

He added that branches of the Directorate of Market Surveillance nationwide have formed e-commerce teams to grasp the market and implement professional measures related to cases on e-commerce platforms. "The market branches are implementing Project 319, a plan to combat counterfeit goods and protect consumers in e-commerce until 2030," said the official.

The directorate is also calling on e-commerce platforms and social media networks, such as Shopee, Lazada, TikTok, Facebook, and Zalo, to commit to stronger compliance measures. Authorities are urging these platforms to implement mechanisms that prevent the listing and sale of counterfeit, prohibited, or untraceable goods.