Scams are rampant on e-commerce platforms in Vietnam. The big tech operators are the same, the commodities supplied are the same, but the platforms and vendors are more compliant in some countries like Germany than in Vietnam. Fifteen years ago, when winning an auction for a second-hand laptop on eBay at a bargain, I quickly made the payment, and waited for delivery, in vain. I tried to contact the seller, but failed. I thought that eBay with its own algorithm automatically settled the deal at a price far lower than expected by the seller, so the seller did not want to hand over the device. Then I managed to contact the agency in charge of fighting e-commerce fraud, sending them an email enclosed with my phone number. Five minutes later, I got a phone call from Dresden City’s police unit tasked with fighting e-commerce fraud, asking if I was the email sender. After just some fingertips and a phone call, the laptop was delivered three days later enclosed with an apology from the seller. Fifteen years later in Vietnam, I fell victim three times to scams, twice on Shopee and once on Lazada. And most recently, I had to make […]