Fraud is something that everyone has heard about. We, as the ones who trade with companies located thousand kilometres of each other, are highly exposed to it. What I'd like to wish everyone is to only hear about cases of fraud and actualy be a victim of it. As a person who experienced fraud, I have to say that it's exceptionaly unpleasant to such an extent that it might completely discourage you from further dealings with foreign trade companies. On the other hand, all you need to avoid fraud is a little precaution, observation and knowledge.

We constantly come to realise that experience is essential and that experience is what most newbie importers lack. That's why in this article I would like to give you some useful tips. Although these methods don't guarantee a 100% safe transaction, they can come in handy for sure. I would even go as far as to say that they are obligatory. Let's think of them as importers' personal hygiene.

Thanks to easy acces to the Web we can use such convenient tools as www.bigchina.eu. The Internet is the all seeing eye through which we can get to know our potential partner. It's the means to gather information about him and to place an order. However, thanks to the posibilty of remaining „incognito” (still regarded as one the most essential features of the Internet), it lead us into a trap set by a fraud.

Studies reveal that the most common form of fraud is simply not delivering the ordered (and paid for) goods. In brief. Step one: ordering the goods. Step two: paying for them. Step three: awaiting delivery. There is no „step four” because the seller never intended to actually ship the ordered those players, mobiles and other dirt cheap items. Ways of spotting such elaborate cons are desribed further.

Western Union as payment method is from the point of view of dishonest traders a brilliant idea. All you need to do is to fill out a form and hand over the amount. The trasfer's ID number is given to us by the the clerk and in a while the money is ready to be withdrawn at any Western Union point throughout the world. Easy as pie.

Simpicity and the illusion of safety have made this method of payment very popular. After withdrawing the money, the paper trail gets cold. We can't be even sure if the money actualy made it to China. Worth remembering is the fact that there is virtualy no possibility of identifying the person who makes the withdrawal. Some Wester Union points don't bother themselves with proper veryfication of the withdrawers' personal information. Bottom line: the money can be picked up by anyone who knows the transaction's details.

Western Union and similar services (i.e. MoneyGram) should only be used to send money to people whom we trust. In other cases, it simpy doesn't pass the test and should be considered as one

Western Union oraz mu podobne usługi (np. MoneyGr of the guidelines to identify a potential fraud. If the seller pushes us to use Western Union's services or lists it as the only payment method, we can be almost positive that he wants to con us. It would be wise to assume that Western Union Money Transfer isn't a valid business tool.

There are also know cases in which the seller persuades the buyer that a temporary change of the withdrawer's personal information is for the buyer's benefit. After delivering the goods according to the order, the buyer changes the information allowing withdrawal to the seller. It's a common trick to get us off-guard. Stating incorrect information on the transfer's form doesn't stop the money from being withdrawn.

Browsing numerous sites, you might stumble upon WWWs like: www.coriumnike.com or www.shomanchina.com . They are filled with nice pictures, decorated with shocking low prices, and in most cases they make me want to click that pretty red button on upper-right corner of the screen.

I would like to make it abundantly clear, my fellow importers, that there is no option to legaly purchase an original Ipod straight from the factory at 1/3 of the regular retail price. Large brands take care of their distribution chains and cooperate with customs throughout the world. All this effort serves the purpose of controlling the flow of Ipods or Nike shoes between Asia and the rest of the world.

Shady low prices should always ring the alarm bell. On the other hand, telling if the price should be interpreted as F R A U D is difficult, especialy for fresh importers. People also have a tendency to believe the miraculous stories of unbelievable margins. If we are to choose whether we lose the money or settle on a lower profit, I'd suggest going for the latter – at least you can be sure that at the of the day the money stays in your pocket.

The savoir-vivre of proper transactions between two entities requires exchange of the necessary information, account numbers, investigating every available piece of information and credentials and finaly trasferring the money. A lot of these fancy, colorful websites don't even list any contact details or state that the withdrawer is an individual. Finaly. It turns out that the only accepted payment method is none other than Western Union... And we all should know what this indicats. If not, than I suggest having a second look at the previous paragraph.

High margins are still available when it comes to Chinese products but blooming international trade makes frauds more frequent, especialy thanks to the Internet.

To get to the nitty gritty: below are four rules which can help you avoid fraud.

1. Google the company which you are interested in. You can add the word „scam” to the search criteria. It is possible that past cases of fraud by that certain company have already been described on the Internet. If nothing comes up than you might want to have a look at the company's website. Suprisingly: the more esthetic and visualy appealing is the site, the more likely is that it's just another fraud. Chinese companies, in most cases, create their sites considering their local market and Chinese esthetics are compeletly different from what we are used to in Europe.

2. Look up www.fraudwatchers.org – the site lists fraud companies. It can help you avoid all the trouble.

3. Pay attention to e-mail adresses. An e-mail sent from economicdevelopment@mail.con should make you think twice, as special economic zones don't use free e-mail accounts...

4. Never, under any circumstances, transfer money via Western Union to strangers.

Those guidelines should make import easier. If, regardless of that, you happen to be victim of fraud, than try to collect as much information about the company as possible, including e-mails, transfers etc. and e-mail me at info@bigchina.eu. I will try to help you.

If you want to investigate a chinese company, we can also help you with that. We have numerous contacts in China. We know presidents of special economic zone, chambers of commerce and many factories. Furthermore, we cooperate with firms which deal in international trade, quality control, and business consulting in China.

I sincerely wish you all high margins and succesful imports.

Martin Brys, import expert at BigChina Co. Ltd.

info@bigchina.eu