A phoney fraud alert is similar to a phishing scam. It can come in the form of an email or a phone call claiming to be from your bank or financial institution. The scammer will usually tell you that your credit card or account has been cancelled because it was involved in criminal activity, or because they suspect your card or details have been stolen. This is a trick to get you to given them your account details.
You will be told that a suspicious transaction has recently occurred on your account, perhaps a large purchase in a foreign country. You will be told that if you did not authorise the transaction, you need to take immediate action as your credit card details have been stolen.
The scammer will ask you to confirm your credit card or account details so the ‘bank’ can ‘investigate’. If you receive an email, it may ask you to visit a website to confirm your credit card details or to find out more information on the supposed ‘fraud’ to your account.
In some variations of this scam, the scammer may already have your credit card number (that they have stolen previously), and may even quote this to you. They will then ask you to confirm that you are the cardholder by telling them the 3 or 4 digit security number printed on the card. If the scammers have this number, they can use your card to buy things over the internet or phone.
These phoney fraud investigations are used to steal your banking details so the scammers can use your account. They work by lowering your guard with the phoney fraud alert. They hope that you panic and do what they suggest to fix the ‘problem’. They are particularly tricky to spot because real banks and credit unions often do contact people if there has been suspicious activity on their account.
If you receive a call from someone who claims to be from your bank and says your account been defrauded you should ask for their name and number, and say you will call them back. Check the number they give you against the number you normally contact your bank with.
A legitimate bank or financial institution will NEVER email you asking you to follow a link or asking you for personal details. If you believe the email is genuine, telephone your bank or financial institution to let them know about the email and ask their advice. Do NOT call using any telephone number listed in the email— use a number that appears on your statement or card, or in the phone book. Many banks and financial institutions now have specialised internet security staff who can help you.
You should NEVER give out your personal or bank account details to somebody you don’t know and trust. Don’t be tricked by an email that looks legitimate or appears to link to a genuine website. The best defence is to delete the email before you even open it and then contact your bank.
If you receive a phone call that you think may be genuine, you should not ignore the possibility that there actually has been some fraud with your bank account or credit card. Ask the caller for details, then hang up and call your bank or credit union to tell them what has happened. Make sure the phone number you use is genuine: use a number that appears on your statement or card, or in the phone book..
Source: http://www.scamwatch.gov.au
A domain name is simply an internet address, used to help people get to a website. For example, the SCAMwatch domain name is scamwatch.gov.au. Domain names must be renewed every couple of years.
Domain name renewal scams can work in one of two ways. You might be sent an invoice for a domain name that is very similar to your current domain name – the scammer hopes that you don’t notice the difference and just pay the invoice.
Alternatively, you could be sent a letter that looks like a renewal notice for your actual domain name, but is from a different company to the one you have previously used to register your domain name.
Be sure to check that the domain name listed in the invoice is the same as your actual domain name. If it is the same, also check to make sure that the invoice is from the company that you have previously used to register your domain name.
If you want to shop around for domain name renewal, find out when your current registration expires to make sure you are not paying when you don’t have to. Also keep in mind that if you get your IT services (e.g. email or web hosting services) from an external company this may include domain name registration for free or at a lower cost. Make sure you know all the terms and conditions of the offer before agreeing to anything.
If you are happy with your current domain name registration provider, simply ignore other ‘renewal’ or ‘registration’ letters that you may receive.
If you want to switch domain name registration providers, make sure you know the full cost, terms and conditions of the offer before agreeing.
Source: http://www.scamwatch.gov.au
Offers that involve transferring money for someone you don’t know are nearly always a scam. They could also be money laundering which is illegal. Money laundering is when somebody tries to ‘launder’ money they have earned from a crime to make it look like it came from a legal source. They do this by putting the money through a series of bank accounts to hide its original (and usually illegal) source.
If you are approached with this scam, you will be asked to transfer money for somebody using your own bank account or a bank account that you set up for this purpose. The approach could come in a number of ways—by a letter similar to the Nigerian scams, by an offer that sounds like a work from home oportunity or in any other way which means you have to hand over bank account details to a stranger. The scams often offer you a commission simply for receiving money into your bank account and then transferring it out again. The commission can be as high as 15% or more of the amount transferred.
If you agree to take part, the scammer could use your account details to clean out your savings.
However, some scammers actually do send money across. This money might come from organised crime or from the proceeds of other scams like internet banking scams.
You may even find that the scammer is keeping their word and lets you keep a small percentage of the total transferred. However, you may also find that the scammer then asks you why you have not transferred some money that you did not receive. The scammer might then pressure you to make up for the ‘missing payment’ out of your own pocket.
Even if none of this happens, if you agree to transfer money in this way you may find that you are being used to cover someone else’s tracks. If the authorities follow the money trail from a crime that the person scamming you was involved in, it could lead straight to your bank account.
As well as following these specific tips, find out how to protect yourself from all sorts of other scams.
If you have been approached by someone asking you to transfer money for them, delete the email, throw away the letter or say no. Ask yourself—why would anyone want to pay someone that they do not know to transfer so much money?
These offers are always scams. You should remember that transferring money for someone else could be money laundering. If you agree to help the scammer by letting them use your bank account you could be getting yourself in serious trouble.
You should NEVER give out your personal or bank account details to somebody you don’t know and trust. Don’t let the fact that an offer sounds enticing or genuine trick you. If the offer came in an email DO NOT respond to the email, or try to unsubscribe from it. This will only confirm to the scammers that your email address is valid.
If you still think the offer may be genuine, make sure you seek the advice of an independent professional (lawyer, accountant or financial planner) before providing ANY personal details.
Source: http://www.scamwatch.gov.au
If you are selling something over the internet or through the classifieds, you may be targeted by a cheque overpayment scam. You might receive an offer from a potential buyer (often quite generous) and accept it. The scammer then sends you a cheque, but the cheque is for more money than the agreed price.
The scammer will invent an excuse for the overpayment. For example, the scammer might tell you that the extra money is meant to cover the fees of an agent or extra shipping costs. The scammer might just say that it was a mistake they made when they wrote the cheque.
The scammer will then ask you to refund the excess amount—usually through an online banking transfer or a wire transfer (such as Western Union). The scammer is hoping that you will do this before you discover that their cheque has bounced. You will have lost the money you paid into their account, and if you have already sent the item you were selling, you will lose this as well. At the very least, the scammer will have wasted your time and prevented you from accepting any legitimate offers.
If you have been sent a cheque for more money than you agreed on DO NOT agree to repay the difference before the cheque has been cleared by your bank. Your best option is to refuse to deal with these cheques at all. Send the cheque back and ask them to send you a cheque for the agreed amount.
Even if the excuse given sounds realistic, be very wary of requests to refund the excess money by instant means like internet banking or wire transfers. Look closely at the cheque they sent—is it from a bank that you recognise and how long will it take to clear?
Don’t let excuses that sound legitimate and realistic distract you—send the incorrect cheque back and ask for another one.
If you think the reasons for the overpayment may be genuine but you cannot send the incorrect cheque back (for example, if you have already deposited it), make sure that the cheque has been cleared by your bank or credit union before returning the extra amount.
Source: www.scamwatch.gov.au
Below are some procurement recommendations :
1. Verify the name and address of the company, the manufacturing address, phone number and fax number. Cross-reference this information and the company name against other trade sites to ensure that the information is the same including contact names. Conduct a Google search on the company and their address to figure out if you could find additional information or additional suppliers that supposedly operate under the same contact information.
2. Refuse to deal with generic e-mail addresses like hotmail or yahoo. Only deal with specific company addresses. If the e-mail address is similar to sales01 or sales02 etc. I would assume that they are a reseller and not a manufacturer. Resellers tend to have offices of people surfing Alibaba etc. all day long trying to contact people. Conduct a whois search on the supplier’s web-address. Verify the information.
3. Call the supplier at the provided phone number several times and inquire about the company and the person. Ask who is in charge and ask to speak with him. Ask your contact to send along information on the company including maps to their manufacturing site.
4. Ask for references in the USA or another developed country. Require them to provide a contact name, company name, title, address and phone number. Follow-up with the references in person--not via e-mail. Ensure that they are valid references.
5. Inform the supplier that you will be visiting their location for a factory tour. Evaluate their response. It is best to hire someone to actually visit the company to verify the company's validity and business operations even if it costs you some money because it is better to minimize risk during the sourcing process. There are a few reputable companies out there that can conduct a background check for you. Contact these companies and buy the reports. It is well worth the money.
6. When procuring items for new suppliers request payment via L/C instead of T/T. Very few international manufacturers actually accept Paypal or Escrow. If you have placing a very, very large order then you might be able to get them to agree. Never pay the full balance up front.
7. Pre-shipment inspections are a must for new suppliers. You want to ensure that the goods are of adequate quality before accepting the order. Conducting a statistical sampling of goods is highly recommended. Also, if you are able to coordinate a pre-shipment inspection then you could arrange for payment of the balance upon successful completion of the inspection.
Notes:
1. If you are dealing with suppliers that pay brand name goods like Apple iPods, Nokia phones, please don’t expect that these are manufacturers of these products. Brand name goods companies have tight controls over the manufacturing process. If the company is a manufacturer then these are most likely fake or imitation goods. If the company says they are authentic then they are either they are a reseller or possibly fraudulent.
Source: Posted by tantk on www.thewholesaleforums.co.uk
Unless you can correct discrepancies in time you will lose your right to payment under the credit and all the cost and effort to obtain security will have been wasted.
If the transport document involved is a full set of negotiable bills of lading, these measures normally retain your control over the goods as the buyer cannot take delivery without the documents, which are still in your control. However, in other circumstances, the buyer can obtain the goods without the presentation of documents. Nevertheless, the buyer is in effect being asked whether, after all, they still want the goods and is prepared to accept the discrepancies in the documents. They are quite free to refuse.
Unless you can correct discrepancies in time you will lose your right to payment under the credit and all the cost and effort to obtain security will have been wasted.
If the transport document involved is a full set of negotiable bills of lading, these measures normally retain your control over the goods as the buyer cannot take delivery without the documents, which are still in your control. However, in other circumstances, the buyer can obtain the goods without the presentation of documents. Nevertheless, the buyer is in effect being asked whether, after all, they still want the goods and is prepared to accept the discrepancies in the documents. They are quite free to refuse.
Source: www.sitpro.org.uk
Source: www.sitpro.org.uk
When checking your credit under the headings below, remember that UCP 600 will apply fully unless you have agreed different terms, which are reflected in the credit. One or more of the following checkpoints may thus be overridden by conditions stipulated in your particular credit. If you are still unclear as to what the wording of the credit implies check what UCP 600 has to say on the point and with the UK bank.
Note: It is recommended that the details of the credit be recorded at this point so that a progress check can be updated right through to presentation of the final documents to the bank for payment. The Documentary Letter of Credit Exporters Validation Form available from Chancellor Formecon Ltd provides a convenient way for doing this.
Note: Under UCP 600, whether a credit is available by sight payment, deferred payment, acceptance or negotiation, a credit can be available with any bank.
Source: www.sitpro.org.uk
