Currently, many Vietnamese consumers show their keen interest in products made in foreign countries, even with the same kind as domestic products that have equivalent quality and cheaper prices. The psychology of buying foreign and branded goods has created a loophole for criminals to infringe on intellectual property rights, the Competition Law and the Consumer Protection Law, especially in textile and fashion products, cosmetics and functional foods.

Illustrative image (Source: DNO)

Every year, especially at the end of the year, taking advantage of the bustling shopping time near Tet (the Lunar Vietnamese New Year), the tricks of commercial fraud criminals are more sophisticated.

According to the Da Nang Market Management Bureau, from 2018 to June 2021, this agency detected and destroyed nearly 120,000 units of counterfeit, fake and poor quality products and those of goods of unknown origin and infringing upon intellectual property with a total value of about VND2 billion.

The majority of the confiscated products were clothes, shoes, wristwatches, cosmetics, eyeglasses, handbags, wallets, functional foods, charging cords/phone cases, glass beads, wet wipes, massage chairs, foot massagers and accessories, electronic cigarettes, household goods of all kinds, caliburn containers, helmets, laundry detergent and fabric softener.

In particular, all foreign wines are fake brands of Chivas 18, Macallan Quest, Captain Morgan Jamaica Rum and laundry detergents fake brands of Comfort and OMO.

During the peak month of crime suppression, ensuring security and order and absolutely protecting safety during the 2022 Lunar New Year, from December 15, 2021 to January 15, 2022, the Thanh Khe District

Police has discovered and handled 6 administrative violations in terms of the trade in counterfeit, fake goods and products of unknown origin in the district.

Many items without invoices and papers, of unknown origin such as cosmetics, computer mice, computer speakers, cell phones and laptops were seized and handled by functional forces.

The act of producing counterfeit and fake goods and advertisements that mislead customers about the brand and product quality goes against the provisions of the Competition Law and the Consumer Protection Law.

Especially, since the COVID-19 pandemic happened, consumers have started to tend to switch to online shopping. After many times, many young people switch to hunting foreign goods after falling victim to online commercial frauds.

Not to mention, some well-known celebrities in the so-called ‘showbiz world’ take advantage of their prestige to participate in advertising poor quality imported cosmetic products and functional foods, causing many people to have false perceptions.

It is a mistake to think that foreign goods that are highly expensive are always better than domestic ones. The purchase of foreign and branded goods by a part of young people is a legitimate demand of consumers about using good products, but also shows the opposite side with the mentality of showing off branded goods and pursuing virtual values among them.

In reality, imported goods are sometimes more popular than domestically produced ones, even though the latter is on the par with the former in terms of quality and is even cheaper.

Some businesses or individuals have taken advantage of this to sell through the ease and gullibility of consumers. Typically, mothers prefer some foreign milk brands to domestic ones because they want their children to increase their height and intelligence. Therefore, in order to avoid becoming a "voluntary victim" of ignorance, you need to become a well-informed consumer when choosing goods.

How to increase consumption of domestically-made products is not a piece of cake. This is a challenge but also a motivation for Vietnamese businesses to promote market research, attach importance to design and product quality so as to build prestige and brand of Vietnamese goods.

According to recent statistics released by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, up to now, Vietnamese goods have accounted for over 90% of the distribution facilities of domestic enterprises. In foreign supermarket chains in Viet Nam, this percentage accounts for 60 - 96%.

For traditional retail channels, the percentage of Vietnamese goods in markets and convenience stores make up for 60% or more. These numbers demonstrate a good sign as Vietnamese goods are increasingly gaining the trust of customers thanks to their clear origin and quality on par with as foreign ones.

Reporting by DOAN HAO LUONG - Translating by A.THU