Young single girls with unwanted pregnancies are trying to swindle money on the internet by pretending to sell or give their child away for adoption.

 Young mother reporter followed

“I need to find people who want to adopt children. I have been pregnant for two weeks, but not want an abortion.”

“I am 19, I’ve been pregnant for four weeks, I cannot be a single mum, but don’t want to have an abortion, if someone wants to adopt it, I’ll give the child to that person.”

Those are two among many messages claiming to sell or put infants up for adoption on the webtretho.com forum.

According to the adverts, most of these women are female students who have become pregnant but don’t want an abortion.

Many people have expressed concern and sympathy to these young women, while other forum users have reproached them for their cavalier attitude to child rearing.

A Dan Tri reporter pretended to be a childless parent and contacted the phone numbers listed on the online messages.

On his first call, the reporter spoke to the pregnant mother who had agreed to give her child to a childless couple.

The second call was responded to by a baby broker. She said the mother would accept VND20 million (USD956) for her baby. The reporter accepted and arranged an appointment with her.

The reporter turned up as arranged at Xuan Thuy Street in Cau Giay District but no-one turned up and the phone number was no longer in use.

The reporter tried some other phone numbers, but was unable to meet any real mothers who wanted to sell or put their child up for adoption.

In an internet shop near Phung Khoang Market in Hanoi’s Tu Liem District, the reporter met a pregnant woman, who often visits the shop to look for donors. After obtaining her nickname, he chatted with her.

She said she was 25, having parted with her boyfriend before knowing that she was pregnant. She had received no help from her family or ex boyfriend.

“I have been pregnant for six months and don’t have any stable income. I go online frequently with the hope that someone would be kind enough to give me money to live until I bear the child”, she said.

The reporter continued to follow her over the next days and realised that she wasn’t as poor as she had portrayed. She wore expensive dress, used a costly handbag and mobile phone and always had young men to transport her around the city.

Ho Thi L., Nghe An Province’s Vinh City is a childless woman who is wanting to adopt a child. When seeing these kinds of messages online, she enthusiastically responds.

After trying several of the adverts, she has almost given up due to a lack of response.

She said most of the posts are by fake pregnant mothers. They may be lovesick girls or unhappy wives, writing messages on the internet as a way to entertain themselves.

Pham Manh Ha, a psychologist said, “If these young mums really exist it’s a red alert sign about the immorality of young people. If these cases are fakes and behind the scenes are swindlers who want to cheat childless couples, then it would reflect extremely badly on society and lessen sympathy for the really disadvantaged”.