Vietnamese Officials Warn Consumers on Bitcoin and Digital Currencies

The Vietnam E-commerce and Information Technology Agency (VECITA) has issued a press release warning consumers not to engage in virtual currency transactions online.

The release, cites a 2014 statement by State Bank of Vietnam, which declared that digital currencies are not recognized as a legitimate means of payment, and that consumers are not protected under any existing statutes.

“The possession, sale and use of “virtual money” as an underlying asset class is very risky for the people and are not protected by law.“

The agency goes on to state that the State Bank of Vietnam has also advised that companies and individuals in Vietnam should not invest and transact with Bitcoin and other cryptocurrency variants.

The VECITA warning highlighted the Mt.Gox fraud in Japan, as well as the MyCoin scam in Hong Kong – where thousands of investors were duped out several thousand bitcoin – as examples to reinforce the risky nature of dabbling in virtual currency schemes.

The press release also noted the increase in consumer complains authorities in Vietnam have received regarding online fraud involving bitcoin and virtual currencies.

VECITA concludes:

“Therefore, e-commerce and IT Department recommends consumers and investors caution in buying or selling “virtual currency” or used to pay for e-commerce transactions, to avoid the risk of fraud appropriation of property.”

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