VietNamNet Bridge – Apple has implemented a “clean hand” campaign for over a month in the iTunes application market and this move has affected Vietnamese users. VietNamNet Bridge – Apple has implemented a “clean hand” campaign for over a month in the iTunes application market and this move has affected Vietnamese users.

Quang, one of the first iPhone users in Vietnam, couldn’t purchase anything from the iTunes store for over a week. He always saw the announcement, “Your payment method was declined.”

“I’ve been a customer of the AppStore for nearly three years, since I bought my iPhone 3G. Before August, I could buy applications on the AppStore very easily, with amounts worth well over $100 a month. I don’t know why I couldn’t make transactions for a month, although I still used my old account. All orders were denied, but the bank still deducted my money,” Quang complained.

Quang is not the only victim. Dealing with this problem has become a hot topic on many online forums in Vietnam.

Members of these forums say that this is a campaign from Apple to combat illegal accounts and hackers. Most IPs and accounts from Vietnam are refused. Perhaps they are denied because they used to be illegal accounts or they changed their account numbers too many times within a short period of time.

More iPhone users have complained when their account balances were deducted but they couldn’t buy applications. According to bank rules, clients will be compensated within 45 days after clients lodge their complaints. To claim the money, clients have to write to banks first.

However, this case shows that Vietnam e-commerce can be isolated because of the abuse of hackers and poor awareness among users who use illegal accounts to save money.

In 2002, all transactions sourced from Vietnamese IP addresses were refused and e-markets like eBay and Amazon crossed out Vietnam from the list of countries where customers can purchase goods from these markets.

Vietnam’s e-markets still have small advertisements offering illegal iTunes accounts. Users are advised not to buy these accounts because they are illegal and can harm Vietnam’s young e-commerce industry.

Vuong Long