Swindlers in China: How to recognize them?

Knowing how to detect danger is essential to avoid falling into a deception. Such  as that of the swindlers in China. Thanks to computers, one of the main features of our era  are to be interconnected many kilometers away. However, we do not always connect with companies or people with good intentions, which frequently may happen when it comes to money as in the case of international business.

For those who are in the import business from China, the problem is that, for a Chinese citizen –with a hidden agenda—is very easy for him to set you up, cheat you and then  disappear  if he gets himself into trouble; many times he even have to shut down the company after the swindle because he knows  how difficult and expensive international litigations are, so difficult that the cheated don´t even dare to start them. Besides, the simple denounce is not very effective, and you have to exert pressure if you want to get results. In the future, we will write a post explaining this undesirable process.  But for now, let´s see how these fraudulent companies or people operate in China.

Swindlers On The Web

Since we are in an increasingly digitally connected society through 2.0, there are more chances of getting involved in a fraudulent business where we get ripped off or fall into  swindlers´ hands.

Many swindlers in China pose as products suppliers by making use of different portals, such as Alibaba, for instance. There they offer their services as well as their products. Everything looks legal, the company appears legally registered. But the truth is that, as a popular aphorism says, “not all that  glitters is gold”.

How to know if we are dealing with swindlers in China?

When you negotiate with suppliers in China, there are several details that you must not  overlook. Namely:

Prices

They are more competitive than usual. It means that the cost of the products is so low that, perhaps because of the printing, the importing persons or companies get blind and without much thinking get in touch with the supposed suppliers. Warning: prices are too low, this is an alert sign and it is very likely to be a trap. But if you believe in the possibility that it is really a small factory that offers good prices to attract the attention of potential customers, do yourself a favor and send the company to visit. The investment in a service between 300-400 USD can help you make a lot of money.

Bank accounts

This is a vital point to know if you are in front of false suppliers in China. Let´s explain: despite having nearly more than 1500 million people, China is country that makes everybody to equally comply with the laws. For instance, only those companies legally registered will be able to export. So  that if your supplier in China asks you to deposit your money into a personal account and not a company´s, then you surely are facing a secure fraud. Cancel the negotiation and denounce.

Unexpected payments

Requesting payment customs houses or extra duties to ship the merchandise you bought, is other of the distinctive marks that point out that you are about to be the victim of a fraudulent business. There are many people and companies in the West that have been swindled in this way paying out, over and over again, important sums of money.

Offshore banks accounts

As we mentioned above, every bank account of a company that supplies good and/or services must have a legal account. Although there are also cases in which these fraudulent companies have business accounts outside of China. Here you must be very cautious and, before running any risk, avoid negotiating with the supposed company.

Product quality

As we know, China is the country that copies par excellence. Many companies that operate in China pay a sort of franchise fee to North American companies that supply the best brands in the textile and technological market to make lower copies of their products. The case is that you might be paying for the import of second-rate products for the cost of the original ones. This is to say, they would be ripping you off.

In this last point, you should bear in mind that generally, brands such as Samsung, Apple, Nike, Puma, Adidas, Gucci, among many others, meticulously look after the entire chain of production and the distribution of their products. In general, this means that they count on their own national and international distributor companies.

Changes in your lifelong supplier´s banking information

You may well have a manufacturer who has properly worked with you for many years and trust each other but, at the last commodity quote change their banking  information  –to another company, another account,  or another other company–. The buyer pays 30% and then the other 70% and suddenly realizes that there is no shipping,   no container load or anything. After investigating he realizes that some swindler, with the help of a hacker, got into the conversations between the buyer and the supplier and made some highly convenient changes for the swindler. This is very difficult to discover but the point is the change of bank account.

So if you are uncertain about the supplier you are working with, we help you to dispel your doubts.  For more information, click here.

Four recommendations for not to be a victim of swindlers in China

According to international market advisers, what an import company that does business with supposed Chinese companies should do, is:

• Verify the plausibility of prices. This is, that they match with the actual value at which they are commonly traded in order to avoid the cheating offers.
• Be sure to track the supplier company´s reputation. It could have years in the market if it is properly registered.
• Never make a bank transaction through alternative systems, such as Paypal or Western Union, since it is normal for a serious company to have a legal bank account.
• Be careful with the information that comes into your mail and try to confirm it by other means.

We hope that this information can serve you to prevent your entering to the list of victims that report stories about their having been swindled in China. Remember, you should be cautious when making businesses from the Internet with companies in this country or any other country. Never forget to look for support   from a company of export services, which helps you to overcome all possible problems related to imports from China.