Spam text messages to sell real estate projects. — Photo tienphong.vn

Real estate companies have said that they will push marketing channels on social media and e-commerce floors instead of calling or sending text messages as a Government decree to tackle spam comes into effect next month.

Experts have said the decree will contribute to blocking spam messages, emails and calls to protect the interests of citizens.

Nguyen Van Dinh, Vice Chairman of Viet Nam Association of Real Estate Brokers (VARS), said the decree will impact real estate sales efforts via telephone.

Brokers still use phone calls to send information to potential customers and using telephones is the least expensive sales channel, according to Dinh.

On the business side, Thanh Nien (Young People) newspaper quoted a leader of Van Khang Phat Corporation as saying advertising through phones was a traditional sales channel and was effective, so was used by many companies.

"However, when the new decree is applied, sales of real estate via phone calls and text messages will have to change," he noted.

Businesses would have to promote other online advertising channels and e-commerce, which would probably cost more, he added.

Meanwhile, Nguyen Van Trung, a broker for the real estate portal batdongsan.com.vn, said senior professional brokers did not market real estate products to customers by phones but often used social media and other outreach channels.

Therefore, he did not feel worried about the impact of the decree. With older customers who rarely use the internet, Trung often meets them directly and finds this method more effective.

Marketing by phone was really annoying and Trung added he had even been called by salespeople from other real estate firms.

However, to sell products online, brokers also needed to invest more money and effort to get results, he noted.

Government Decree 91/2020/ND-CP on the prevention of spam messages, emails and calls will come into effect on October 1.

Under the decree, the Ministry of Information and Communications (MIC)’s Authority of Information Security will operate a system at the number 5656 where phone users can forward a spam text or call and let relevant units fine the spammers.

For the first time, Viet Nam will have a national list of subscribers who do not want to receive any advertising text messages (National Do not call - DNC) so users on the list won't receive spam messages or calls. Local phone users can register their number in the list via the system 5656.

Advertisers, telecommunications and internet service providers who make calls or send advertising text messages to phone numbers on the list will be fined up to VND100 million (US$4,300) while telecommunication carriers who still allow calls and texts to go through will be fined from VND140 million to VND170 million.

According to the decree, advertisers can only send advertising text messages if they send a copy of each text message to the system 5656 as well.

According to the decree, firms providing internet and telecommunication services have to comply with the MIC’s requirements on the prevention and handling of spam. — VNS