FALSE ADVERTISING: The Taipei Department of Legal Affairs said that it issued the warning after people were conned into buying low-quality goods produced in China

Taipei Times
Date: Jun 08, 2020
By: Huang Chao-hsiang and Dennis Xie / Staff reporter, with staff writer

The Taipei Department of Legal Affairs on Friday warned people not to use Facebook for online shopping, as the social media platform does not guarantee safe transactions.

“Facebook should not be used as an e-commerce platform, as it has no mechanisms in place to ensure safe transactions,” the department said in a news release, after having received numerous complaints from consumers who purchased counterfeit agricultural products on Facebook.

Advertisements claimed that the products were produced by small farms in Taiwan, with names such as “Pingtung County black chocolate,” “Tainan Yujing District (玉井) dried mango strips,” “Tainan No. 9 peanut butter” and “Taiwan farmer wild honey,” the department said.

However, when the packages arrived, people found that the products were low-quality goods manufactured by Chinese factories, and they were unable to locate any customer service number or Web site contact for a refund, it said.    [FULL  STORY]