Chinese SCAMMERS, FRAUD COMPANIES and BUSINESS With China

It happens, you buy from a company in china and your money disappears . You don’t get your goods, you get something that is horrible quality, or you are just unsure if they are trustworthy. Buying on the Internet isn’t like real life because you can’t just pick it up at a store and observe the item, you can’t walk it up to the cash and make sure it goes into the bag and that you walk out the door with it.Here  are some ways you can avoid being scammed by Chinese companies:
• check the relevant regulatory agency’s website to see if the company you are dealing with is listed and regulated. You can even contact the regulator to verify whether the company is regulated;
• do general searches (e.g. on Google) to see what information can be found about the company you are dealing with;
• only deal with people you trust. Dealing with individuals you have never met carries a higher risk;
• get independent advice before entering into a transaction, or getting a second opinion from a trusted friend;
• use common sense. Be wary of the tell-tale signs of a scam such as persons who:
- communicate only via email and telephone with a reluctance or a refusal to meet in person;
- are reluctant or refuse to provide information on who regulates their activity; and/or
- use generic email address such as Hot mail and Yahoo; and
• keep paperwork safe. When entering into any new relationship ensure that you maintain good records of all paperwork you receive and keep records of all your meetings and conversations. This may not prevent you from being scammed but will assist in the event that you need to take any action.
- Do not completely trust most of all those so called"Top Listed, Golden members" of some famous B2B websites, as well as the certificates issued by some famous quality auditing organizations Some famous B2B websites and 3rd party quality inspecting organizations are helping to advertise cheaters 

They are only interested in short-term profits, most of those companies usually buy their way into "Top listed, “Golden member" spots and spend very small sums to get the quality certificates.
Besides bad reputation most of these B2B websites never have to take any responsibility for the damages caused by the companies they approved to buyers
- Do not completely trust sampling (Of course sometimes you can only get qualified sample from a cheating company)
- Do not completely trust L/C, esp. L/C at sight (The bank can not guarantee the quality of material)


- Authorize SGS to do the whole control of quality inspection, If a price quotation is too good to be real then you'd better do your homework before contacting that seller any further
-Use Secure Payment Methods:This is where I recommend Pay Pal. For one, it is most widely accepted and if a site refuses pay pal then they are probably not worth trusting. What pay pal does is act as a wall between you and the seller, preventing the seller from getting your credit card or other financial information, keeping you safe from fraud or identity theft. They also deal with other buyer protection in case you don’t receive the item or get something that was not as advertised.

It is also helpful to use your credit card, rather than cash, cheque or money order. A credit card allows you to dispute a payment with the credit card company should you not get your item.

Only buy on sites that are offering a safe web checkout process. Look for company logos like VeriSign and TrustE. Sites with encryption display a locked padlock on the bottom of the browser.
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- Get your local friends in China or partners whom you know well be involved in the dealing .

• How to distinguish fraudulent sellers from company name

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(1)   Beware of  those companies which are not well known in the industry, but have a very captivating name, usually names  similar to famous brands, calling themselves “Group”, seems like factories etc.

-        Business and product range

Normally they have very wide products range, most of their products are high-value chemical raw materials like STPP, SHMP, TSP, Titanium dioxide, Zinc Oxide, Iron Oxide, Carbon Black, Pentaerythritol, Formic acid, Oxalic Acid, Glacial Acetic Acid, Caustic Soda, Soda Ash, CMC, HYPO, NH4Cl, PAC, DOP, Cedric Acid and so on. We have to say that there are some honest companies who are dealing with such products, but watch out for with a wide business range and simultaneously declaring themselves manufacturers or factories

-       Prices, performance and photos

(1)   There is no Chinese version but only English version on most cheating company websites, because their targets are usually foreign buyers, and Chinese versions might expose some real information about them,easily be spotted out by Internet police in china or conflict with what is written on the English version Do not completely trust websites ( Many website’s cost even less than 100 dollar in china ). Its  actually  sickening because  there are some honest foreign trading companies out there as well.so don't just paint every company that have an all English website with same brush .its good to always do some detail research about  companies  before doing business with them .

(2)   Normally their prices are obviously 5-30% lower than the main stream market prices, and they will explain that they themselves are factories and they are anxious to occupy more market and something like that.  Most fraudulent companies often use extremely low prices to lure their preys . Of course, it's not like all  normal quotations are from honest suppliers some of these fake companies  are actually versed with business negotiations and rules as they might have been genuine business owners  turned swindler.

(3)   Cheaters like to show some workshop pictures, lab pictures and big factories’  with   company names, even some certificates issued by UKAS, SGS, or local government ( but those pictures are intensively made unreadable),  they do this just  to gain the  trust of their  potential victims.  Most significantly,these fake companies always have very convincing information of factory experience,expertise and credibility on their websites or  emails , but,  not willing to accept potential customers’ visit. They are cautious to expose any Chinese information even their office address. Of course, some cheaters will some might accept your request to visit, because they know well that the chances of a real visit is small and even if you eventual visit, they will still have  an upper hand  because most foreigners wont be able to understand mandarin or Cantonese.

(4)   After these cheaters receive complete payment from victims it automatically becomes difficult to contact the  sale assistant who was very hospitable and sweet before payment. If they happen to get only  partial payment, they will keep in touch with victims for the rest of the  payment . some fake companies that actually send goods will send the lowest quality knock off garbage products in the market and if any complaints come up they will use  excuses like expired validity of the declared quality  or even completely deny the garbage is  from them. These fake companies normally use same company name to cheat people until they get exposed or just disappear after they hit a jackpot.Actually in some unique areas of China mainland, the cost of registering a company is very little (about US$1000.) and the supervision and management from  local government officials is usually  very poor or just plainly corrupt.Finally, most of these fake companies usually operate under different legally registered company names with many different websites.other tips include:

 (1)   It’s reasonable and completely right for buyers to look for lower prices, but some buyers just rely on luck and trust without investigating.

(2)   All the cheating companies are legally registered, almost have no difference with honest companies

(3)   Faking certificates, ID and other official original documents has become a big industry in China, almost whatever you requested can be faked and bought in the black market

-       From help of local Chinese friends or specialized inspection organizations   

When the dealing amount is huge, it’s wise and needed to get a Credit Report (from Inspection organization like Sino-sure) of suppliers whom you are not familiar with before signing contract and making payment. If you have friends or partners in China, it is wise and needed to get them involved in the dealing. Normally when local Chinese getting involved, cheaters will give up the related target. Even they don’t give up, it’s more easier for some local Chinese or business men living in china for years to tell  the difference  between fake and real companies.

There is a simple rule: be careful and attentive. No extra cautiousness will be too much.

You can equally get more insides on this issue  from herehttp://www.topix.com/forum/who/scam/T66IC9885M18P23N8/p57
                 Good luck!