Riyadh: Saudi ministry of commerce on Sunday shut down 184 Chinese business websites selling low-quality, counterfeit products, reports said. These websites sell products by giving fake advertisements and making false promises on social media.
The websites also did not allow customers to return or exchange items and thereby, deluded buyers with the quality of the offered products, Al Jazeera reported.
Authorities realized that the people are getting attracted to the advertisements in Arabic, which have links attached to them. When they blocked one such site, five other websites opened and sales through it.
Saudi officials said 184 sites had been launched with the aim of attracting more people at the same time as they were also blocked.
Consumer products such as electronics, perfumes, bags, shoes, clothes and cosmetics were sold through these online websites. Following the discovery of the scam, the ministry conducted further research on the sites and action was then taken against them.
The ministry said the closure was due to a lack of information about the online store, address, phone number and user care facility. The ministry urged people to buy only from reputable online stores.
The ministry said that those who notice such websites, links and advertisements should report on https://mci.gov.sa.