The 60-year-old man from the coastal province of Vung Tau recently took his phone to a Vertu shop to have the case redesigned.

Upon inspection, Vertu technicians found that the device was a Signature S model, although the man had believed it was a Signature V. The latter can connect to the 4G network, while the former cannot.

The owner is now trying to contact the seller who misrepresented the product’s capabilities, as the commercial 2G network in Vietnam is scheduled to be shut down next month.

“Many Vertu Signature S owners have reported connectivity issues recently. The model, which does not support 4G, is not officially sold in Vietnam. Owners often purchased it in other countries,” said a representative of Vertu Vietnam.

Ho Chi Minh City-based luxury phone collector Quoc Bao said the Signature S and Signature V models look identical on the outside and ordinary users cannot tell the difference unless they open the phones and look inside.

With the impending shutdown of 2G services in Vietnam, some sellers are fraudulently advertising the Signature S as the more expensive V model to deceive unsuspecting buyers.

Without 2G connectivity, many Signature S smartphones will soon no longer be able to make phone calls.

The Ministry of Information and Communications warned users last week about an increase in 4G phone scams on social media.

It said there had been an increase in scams related to 4G phones on social media, with some sellers falsely claiming that 2G phones are 4G-capable.

Contrary to sellers’ claims, these phones would stop working once 2G was switched off, the ministry added.

There are over 120 million telephone subscriptions in Vietnam, almost 10 million of which are exclusively connected to the 2G network.

Commercial 2G services will be shut down on September 16.